Vertigo
by SunlitMercy
Summary: Coming back to Santa Carla after three years isn't the only difficult thing Cassidy Reeves will have to go through. Re-learning to love the one she hates, losing a piece of herself, and trying to survive the world's most lethal hunter are only a few...
1. Chapter 1 She's back

**HELLO.**

"**And now we're back…from outer space! Just walked in here to find you with that look upon your face!"**

**Sorry, I just really love song LOL**

**Anyways, I'm here giving you the next installment of Cassidy Reeves' story! I've been really brainstorming Vertigo since the day I finished TFD and I've decided there's going to be 3 parts to this story. TFD, Vertigo and the 3****rd**** which I have absolutely no name for at the moment :D**

**Well, I was looking back at TFD and seriously, my thoughts were, "Mother fucking shit! Did I seriously write that?"**

**My writing style has changed dramatically (in a good way I hope) and I promise this story will be better :DDDDDDD**

**Some seriously drastic things will happen in this story, so you've been warned.**

**Sunny**

**Disclaimer: although I don't own The Lost Boys, I do own Cassidy and Holly and more original characters to come. Any references, characters, and plot sequences that come from The Lost Boys major motion picture all belong to Warner Brothers Pictures.**

**{***}**

The waves were particularly calm as the blazing sun beat down on the waters of Santa Carla. The ocean tide slowly broke over the bottom of Hudson's Bluff, leaving crustaceans and seaweed to stick to the rocky lining. Seagulls cried above the blue abyss, lingering in the breeze above the puffy, white clouds; enjoying the warm summer's day. The bluff was deserted, as it was every day. People were usually lined up at the beach, tanning on soft beach towels or playing volleyball in the sand. Children would scream and splash in the cool waters as parents quickly applied thick, creamy sun block to their reddening skin. The smells of grease and cotton candy would linger around the edges of the beach, coaxing the hungry tourists to the increasingly overpopulated boardwalk. The rides were a cool way to get an artificial breeze in your face and the concession stands were a refreshing method to lower your body temperature if only just for a second.

The salty ocean air smothered the stray dogs that lingered around the alley ways, scavenging for scraps of food to satisfy their hunger. Fleas jumped back and forth between the matted pelts of the pack dogs and rotted, worn down fangs flashed at the sight of danger. Santa Carla was a harbor for all kinds of seemingly benevolent creatures whether it be dogs, birds, or humans. They all lived within a protective bubble, always under the impression that their little world would never be punctured. Despite the crime rate in Santa Carla, the naïve ones always thought themselves to be protected, safe, but the intelligent beings knew, they saw. They were quite aware of what shadows dwelled among the streets of their town and they were weary of it. These were the people that were never touched.

They knew how to avoid the vampires of Santa Carla.

The pack of vampires was a tightly knit family, if that's what you wanted to call them. They cared for each other, protected one another and never let any threat come close to touching a brother, sister or mate.

However, with the subject of mates, there had been some mistakes. David, the vampire underneath the head, had lost his. He met her while she was only a child and, being blinded by a strange overcoming, he was fooled into believing he loved that little girl.

But we all know vampires can never feel love. They lost their humanity and with that went human emotions.

David merely possessed a sick, foolish obsession with the girl. She represented something he could never have; mortality.

As she grew older, he stayed in the shadows, waiting for her to become the right age. When that day came, things didn't go as he expected.

They took a turn for the worse.

The girl, Cassidy, turned out to be more difficult that he had estimated and she resisted against him. Of course, what vampire likes rebellion? He was forced to abandon his obsession and weeks later, Cassidy left town.

Now, three years later, a few things had changed.

Holly had become a full vampire, much to her chagrin. Marko made sure she fed every night to ensure that she would become used to their way of life. Much like David, Marko was somewhat of a selfish creature; he would never let Holly leave. Not that she wanted to of course.

Paul had found a little bit of fun in a girl that worked down by the beach at a surf shop. She wasn't all that important to him, just a quick fling. Sometimes Paul liked to have a short relationship, sometimes he didn't. It all depended on what kind of mood he was in.

Dwayne had started distancing himself from the rest of the group. It was actually quite a recent thing, but the boys hadn't really minded. Dwayne did this every once in a while. He wasn't going to leave; that was completely out of the question. He always became more sullen than usual when June rolled around. No one ever really knew why. Once the month was over, he would be his old self again.

David, he was bitterer than he ever had been before. It seemed to get worse by the month. He was snappier, always irritated, and constantly questioning Max's lead. Three years ago, this would have never happened and everyone knew it. It's not that David missed having Cassidy around, David didn't miss anyone. It was the fact that he had simply let her slip through his fingers that honestly angered him. David was in control of everything, and Cassidy was the first thing that had ever gotten away.

When it came to her, he would never have control and he knew it.

Not that it mattered anyways; Cassidy was gone forever. She moved back to Georgia, leaving her father and brother behind.

She moved in with her grandparents, desperate to make a new life for herself away from Santa Carla. Cassidy put herself through college, taking the basic courses at first and then moving on to major in photography. Cassidy had found a new love for the art; it helped take her mind off things. When her father and brother came to visit the week she graduated they brought along an old friend; Sam Baker. If you happen to have trouble remembering the boy, then let's jog your memory a bit.

"_A word of advice: look out for that Sam boy; he seems to like you a lot."_

Remember that? Yes, I thought so.

Well, to cut things a little short, Cassidy and Sam formed a tighter, long distance relationship. That turned into best friends which, after a few months, turned into an intimate connection.

Cassidy had fallen back in love, but this time with a different man.

This wasn't to say that she never thought of David because she did. But she knew, like any other smart young woman that she would have to move on with her life.

David moved on as well. Although forgetting an obsession is quite a difficult task, he pulled it off and went back to his former lifestyle before he met Cassidy.

No one was to talk about Cassidy in David's presence, ever, but who would even need to? She was part of the past and vampires are masters at forgetting it.

The five vampires, on that steamy summer's day, were tucked safety away in a hidden cavern far below the cliff walls. They hung upside down by their feet, their hair dangling below their heads. Their arms were crossed over their chest and their sleeping forms actually seemed quite peaceful.

Dwayne and Paul were located towards the right side of the cavern, David was in the front (naturally protecting his family) and Marko and Holly were towards the back. Holly, like an infant, was embraced tightly in Marko's arms, her head buried beneath his jacket. She slept soundly, never stirring from her deep, death-like slumber. Holly had a special gift-she could read vibes. This supernatural ability also led her to have other strange tendencies, such as dreams.

And it just so happens, Holly was in the middle of one.

{***}

_Her feet glided across the ground, collecting dirt and creating black soles. The rocks and glass shards littering the ground clung to her fiery orange skirt as it danced around her ankles, sometimes catching on the thin anklets dangling around her foot. She moved with a lithe, cat-like motion, her gestures fluid like a trickling stream. Her hair was thick, straight and wild; blowing in all sorts of directions as the wind gently caressed it. Her dark green and brown spotted eyes sparkled with mischief and animation as she watched the people flow past her, giving her strange looks. The shrill carnival music rang loudly in her ears, but she didn't mind. _

_This was her boardwalk and she loved it._

_She ended up at the railings leading down to the beach. She supported her weight against the metal poles, gazing down at the waters longingly. Little crabs danced with the ocean, their claws catching on stray pieces of seaweed. Bonfires were lit in the sand, spotting the beach with light. She smiled, her teeth glinting off the pale moon._

_She stood up straight when she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She grew uneasy and shifted her weight from foot to foot. Someone was watching her._

_Slowly turning back around, she lifted her gaze to the crowd. It was thick that night and she could see nothing of great importance. _

_Suddenly, the throng of people parted for a split second and there, hidden among them, was the source of her unease. _

_Blonde curls flowed to her shoulder, hanging in front of her right eye which burned ocean blue. High cheeks bones and a deep blush stained her face; pink lips were slightly parted, revealing hints of milky white teeth. A strange look swam in her eyes, a deep agitation. She had grown older from the last time Holly had seen her, much older. _

_They locked eyes and the blonde now looked triumphant. _

_Holly stepped forward, moving quickly towards the girl, but was stopped. The crowd massed together and the blonde was lost. _

"_Wait!" she cried, pushing her way through the people who grunted angrily in response. _

_When she reached the spot the girl had been only moments before, it was abandoned. _

"_What?" she whispered to herself. _

_She stood there a moment longer, shaking her head before backing away slowly, contemplating the thought that she had gone insane. Had she really seen who she thought it was?_

_She looked around warily before melting back into the crowds, blending in with the mortals. Here, surrounded by strangers, she was safe._

_She walked quickly, silently, searching for Marko to take her home. She wanted to be alone with him tonight as she was entirely spooked._

_She avoided eye contact, instead went as fast as she could through the masses. The breeze began to pick up, howling in her ears. She took a deep breath, walking quietly along when she noticed something horrifyingly familiar. _

_Dirty work boots._

_She stopped walking and looked up with a wide eyed expression. _

_The blonde stood merely twenty feet away from her, stuck like glue in one position. Holly started forward again, trying to reach the girl when she gasped, stopping in her tracks._

_Only ten feet away stood an exact replica of the blonde. In fact, they were even wearing the same clothing. They both stared at her with that agitated look, cocking their heads in confusion before turning around and disappearing into the crowds like a distant memroy._

"_Stop!" Holly cried, running after them. _

_She pushed through people, knocking them over in the process. She screamed at the top of her lungs for the blonde to stop, but no one answered back. _

"_Holly…"_

_She skidded to a halt, her feet scraping against the dusty ground as she heard her name being called. Her eyes widened and she spun around several times, trying to locate the voice._

"_Where are you?" she yelled._

_People kept giving her strange looks, and knocking shoulders with her. _

_Then, out of nowhere, four more of the blonde appeared. All of them were standing side by side, shaking their heads at her. Their blues eyes were disapproving and sad, their faces puckered with silent tears. One stepped forward, glaring at her angrily. Then, another stepped forward and another until eight more blondes had arrived out of nowhere, it seemed._

_Holly looked around frantically as they multiplied by the second._

_They became the crowd._

"_Why are you here?" she whispered, eyes glistening with fear._

_One blonde, only one, raised her hand to point at Holly, her face troubled with a mix of emotions. _

"_You."_

_Holly stepped forward, her feet moving nimbly on the ground._

"_What is it?" she whispered, trying to touch the blonde's hand. Her eyes seemed like hollow graves, void of any previous emotion._

"_You. You. You." They all started chanting. _

_Holly's face scrunched up in confusion. _

"_Me?"_

"_You." The single blonde whispered. _

"_You will tell them…"_

"_Tell them what?" she whispered, trying to take hold of the blonde's hand._

_Suddenly, as if by some dark force, they all disappeared. _

_All expect one._

_She stood looking at Holly, her eyes glazed over with a horrified look. She gazed around fearfully, on the lookout for something. _

"_What are you looking for?" Holly whispered. _

"_Tell them…" the blonde chanted again, this time her voice rising higher. She began backing away, her eyes clouded with grief and panic. _

_There was something wrong._

"_What's going on? What are you afraid of?" Holly asked her._

_The blonde shook her head, her movements becoming faster as she practically ran away. She pointed again, this time behind Holly._

"_Tell them!"_

_Holly whipped around, desperate to find what was frightening the blonde so much. _

_She was wished hadn't'. _

_A cloaked figure towered over her, a distinct strawberry perfume radiating off it. Yellow eyes gleamed from behind the hood and Holly could hear low hisses and sharp teeth gnashing together. Thick pieces of long brown locks peaked out from behind the cloak and a ghastly, pale hand with old timey rings rose up and pointed at the blonde. Holly felt cold and empty inside as she gazed upon the figure. This thing, this creature instilled hollowness in everything it came in contact with._

_It spoke with a scratchy snarl._

"_Kill or be killed! Kill or be killed!"_

_The blonde ran at full speed away from the creature and Holly, crying out,_

"_David!"_

_The scream echoed around the boardwalk, chilling Holly to the bone. The sound of fear, true fear, still made Holly sick, even if she was a vampire._

_The figure started after the girl, gliding over the ground like a dragon. The cloth scraped against the ground, blowing dust clouds behind it that blocked Holly's vision. _

"_Wait!" she screamed, trying to run after them._

_She heard the voice again, although quite faint this time._

"_Tell them…."_

"_What? Tell them what?' she cried, racing around the dust blindly._

"_Tell them…."_

_Holly's eyes watered from the dust and she coughed frantically. Looking around after the cloud had cleared, there was nothing to be seen. The crowd was gone, the sounds were silent and the moon was her only friend._

_She stood alone, listening to the faint whisper that followed on the breeze._

"_Tell them….I'm back."_

{***}

Her eyes shot open, and she thought (if she had a beating heart) she would have died from the rapidly pumping adrenaline. Although she didn't need to breathe, she gasped, nearly to the point of hyperventilation. All she could see was Marko's white top and the linings of his jacket, but the dream still played behind her eyes.

She started to shake then and tightly grasped Marko's jacket as quiet whimpers began escaping her throat. She felt numb and started panicking as she began to lose her grip on the pole that she was hanging upside down on.

"_Tell them!"_

Those words screamed in her ears and she shook her head, trying to clear away the dream.

"Marko," she whispered, terrified.

His eyes remained closed. She shook his shoulders, crying out as she started slipping. She couldn't feel her legs, couldn't feel her waist; she couldn't feel anything.

"Marko!" she screamed, tears gliding down her face.

His eyes shot open, revealing bloodshot blue/green irises. Holly grasped his shirt as she finally fell off the pole, crying out loudly, waking the other boys. She fell heavily to the ground, a loud _thump_ echoing across the small cavern. Dust kicked up around her and she pulled her knees to her chin, cradling herself. She could smell the annoyance radiating off the other boys from being woken up in the middle of the day.

"Holly!" she heard Marko call. The sound of boots hitting the ground followed after and Marko came into view.

His eyes were concerned as he knelt down beside her, taking her face in his hands.

"Holly. Holly, look at me," he coaxed.

Her eyes traveled up his face, her body shaking as she locked eyes with him. He looked tired, frustrated and concerned.

"Are you okay?" he asked gently, quickly inspected her arms, torso, and legs.

She nodded her head, her body still numb as she watched her brothers land on the ground after Marko.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

Paul rubbed his eyes, yawing, Dwayne scowled, an exhausted look painted on his face, yet David was as calm as ever. He watched her carefully, waiting for her to speak.

David knew that Holly had dreams, in fact, David knew everything about Holly. There was no chance in the world David would let someone come into his family without knowing their background first.

He watched her with cold, blue irises and a hard, difficult expression. She shivered under his gaze and buried her face in Marko's shoulder.

She could still see the dream just as clear as if she were asleep. Those haunting blue eyes, that terrified expression, the horror filled voice, all of it was screaming at her, urging her to tell them.

"What did you dream of, Holly?" David asked coolly, knowing very well _that_ was the source of the young vampire's fear.

She looked up slowly, tears staining her cheeks. Her expression was confused. Even after three years of living with David, he still surprised her with his uncanny ability to know what was she was always thinking. She never felt her thoughts were entirely safe when she was around him.

"How did you-?

"It's not hard to guess," he replied, his eyes narrowing.

She shivered again, and stood up slowly on shaky legs. Marko's hand supported her waist, pulling her closer to him. Clearing her throat, she looked only at David who stared expectantly back.

"There was a creature in my dream. It was wearing a black cloak, so I...couldn't see its face. It was a vampire though, that much I could tell."

"Are you sure it wasn't just a nightmare?" Dwayne asked, raising an eyebrow.

Holly shook her head frantically. "No."

David waited impatiently, making an irritated noise in the back of his throat.

"It kept repeating 'Kill or be killed' and I just felt…cold. Then it left."

She lowered her head, avoiding any further eye contact with David while Marko gently rubbed her back with one hand.

She could feel David's gaze burning into her, but she refused to look his way. She didn't have any desire to explain the rest of her dream. After all, the rules were clear: there was no talking about her.

"What are you not telling me, Holly?" he questioned sternly.

All the boys stirred, irritation slowly building up in their eyes as they realized she wasn't telling them the whole dream. There were no secrets in the family, none. That was another rule Holly had to learn.

She looked up shyly, taking a deep breath before speaking.

David wasn't going to like what she had to say.

"I dreamt of her. She looked older this time, much older. She kept appearing in front of me and then disappearing. She…she was afraid of that thing, that figure. She was running from it, and I think she called your name," she said, nodding her head at David, "she kept screaming at me though."

The boys all looked back and forth between themselves, wondering what the hell Holly was talking about. David just stared.

"She kept screaming, 'Tell them. Tell them.'"

"Tell who?" Marko asked.

David continued to watch her, a frigid look in his blue irises.

Holy swallowed her fear and stood up straight. She wasn't going to back down this time. This was her time to control things, not David's, and she had everybody by strings.

"She wanted me to tell _you_," she replied, looking around at her brothers, her gaze lingering on David.

They waited silently, anxiously.

"Cassidy's back."

**{***}**

**So what do you think? Holly is going to be an important character in this story, as will a new character (the cloaked figure) so keep those two in mind. **

**Leave a review please! I've missed my Cassidy Reeves readers!**

**Sunny**


	2. Chapter 2 Everything suspicious

**Hello! I apologize for this chapter being *months* late, but I've been busier than most these last few months. Well, anyways, I know exactly where this story is going and I'm very satisfied with this chapter. I hope you will be too. I'm taking things slow as that's what makes a good story.**

**Some things you'll need to remember for this chapter:**

**Honor O'Riley- Cassidy's oldest cousin. She appeared in the family reunion chapter in TFD**

**Sam Baker- Carter's best friend and now Cassidy's lover**

**Nadya Reeves- Cassidy's mother who was brutally murdered by Max**

**The cloaked figure- the vampire entity from Holly's dream that was set on killing Cassidy**

**Enjoy!**

**{***}**

"_You just listened to One Slip by Pink Floyd. Now specially requested, How Soon Is Now? by The Smiths. You're listening KDD radio, all music you want." _

"Hey turn it up. I love this song."

Honor smirked, moving her heavily jeweled hand to turn up the volume on the radio. The speakers on the car doors vibrated with the music and my bare foot tapped to the rhythm. The sun was hidden behind dark, ominous looking clouds that day, and I saw Honor grimace as she ducked her head to look out the window.

"Think it'll rain?"

I shrugged, propping my feet up on top of the dashboard. The black nail polish was chipping off my toenails, making my feet look rather…grimy.

"I don't know, maybe," I mumbled, picking the polish off my nails. Nasty habit, I know.

She glanced over, doing a double take before directing her attention back towards the road.

"Will you stop doing that? I'll be cleaning up black shavings all day."

I rolled my eyes, wiping my hand across my jeans. "Take a chill pill and focus on the road, will you?"

She grumbled, taking a right on the interstate before glancing back over at me.

"Seriously though, I just cleaned this car, Cass."

I held up my hands in surrender, snickering. "Alright, Miss Neat Freak, you want me to sanitize my feet while I'm at it?"

"That would be nice _actually_."

"Jesus, chill out, will you?"

She rolled her eyes and put on her turn signal, easing over into the next lane.

"What are you talking about? I'm the mellowest person you know."

I laughed. "You're hilarious. You're fucking nerves are strung out so high not even God could reach up to grab them."

"Ha. Ha."

"Now shut up so I can hear the song," I smiled, smacking her on the arm.

Honor O'Riley, my closet cousin on my father's side, witty, a total smartass, and a red headed prodigy when it came to playing the piano. We never really saw each other often when I was a teenager, except for the few times we had family reunions down in Georgia. Over the last three years, however, Honor and I had become basically Siamese twins. You never found us alone.

"So did you get that pretty pink dress I found for you?"

Honor glanced over at me, revealing a smile that reached her eyes, before motioning with her head towards the back of the car.

"In my duffel bag."

I squealed, doing a little happy dance in my seat while she laughed, drumming her hands on the steering wheel.

"I knew you'd like it!" I grinned, reaching down to grab my purse.

"Well, it was the only one that looked decent enough with my hair and I couldn't wear black like I wanted to."

"Of course not, dumbass, it's a wedding, not a funeral."

She smiled. "Still, it's your brother's. I don't think he'd mind much, considering who he's marrying."

I snorted. "Jessie's a nice girl, alright. Just because she likes more AC/DC than most people doesn't mean she's not normal."

"Hey don't get me wrong, I'm into that shit and all, but admit it. Your brother's been chasing that Highway to Hell wannabe since freshman year and it's kinda pathetic."

"Seriously, is this judge the Reeves family day?" I asked, bewildered.

"I'm just saying, your brother's in for the ride of his life, whether he's prepared or not."

"Carter's more of a wild child than you think."

"Oh, I'm sure a farm boy who loves old country and plows fields for his hobby is ready to take on Ms. Ball Breaker for the rest of his natural born life."

"Ouch, you're a bitch, you know that? Plus, he doesn't _plow fields_ for a hobby, Honor, he's a normal guy that does…normal….guy things."

"Oh, yeah? Like what?" her voice, oddly, adopted more of a Southern drawl than she already had.

I raised an eyebrow, stealing a sneaky glance over at her. "Like raiding your underwear drawer."

She squealed, punching my arm like a kid would do when they threw a tantrum. Where was a lollypop when I needed one? Now, she would never shut up and the song was half way over with.

"Are you serious?" she cried, her face stretching wide in embarrassment.

I just couldn't help myself. She was way too gullible. "Oh, yeah, he really liked that black lacey pair, the one that barely covers your-"

"Shut it, Reeves, or I swear I'll wreck the car!" she screamed, trying not to grin.

"That'll only hurt you more in the long run. It's your car you know, not mine. Insurance is pricey these days."

She scowled, punching my arm one more time before placing both hands on the wheel.

"Since when did you become so much of a smartass?"

"Since I realized that's the only language you speak," I said smugly.

"Fuck off," she grumbled, blowing a strand of darker red hair from her eyes.

We both fell silent then, enjoying the last few minutes of the song. The sun managed to peak its head out from behind the gray clouds and I shuffled through my purse again, grabbing my aviators. They were smudged with finger prints, most likely from Honor digging around in my bag. The bitch always did, probably looking for mascara or some shit like that. Among the other junk stuffed in my bag, I noticed a small, folded up piece of paper hidden behind my wallet. The paper unfolded easily and written on the inside was a note in scratchy handwriting.

_Couldn't say this in front of Honor…you know how she gets. Just wanted to let you know you looked incredibly beautiful today. Keep using that gray eye shadow, it looks great on you and I liked the cupcake lip gloss; keep wearing that. I'll see you in a few weeks._

_Sam_

I smiled to myself as I felt a blush creep up onto my cheeks and burn red hot on my nose.

Sam; my brother's best and oldest friend and my _boyfriend. _It still sounded so strange to say, but it was certainly true. I loved Sam, I really did and I think he loved me. We lived together in a small apartment down in Georgia where I moved two months after I graduated high school. I called my brother and dad every day to check up with them, but…I really never wanted to move back to California, especially not after…

"You alright?"

Honor glanced over at me, doing her best to multitask with her attention. I hadn't realized my hands were shaking.

Oops.

Clearing my throat, I held up the note so she could see it without bending over backwards and getting us killed. Thank God I had the note…a perfect distraction.

"Sam wrote me a note."

She made a face and shook her head. "If it's mushy, I don't want to hear it."

I paused, steadying my hands and started reading anyways.

By the time I reached the "_you looked incredibly beautiful"_ part, she snatched the note from my fingers and crumpled it into a ball, her manicured nails completely crushing the poor love note.

"Hey!"

"I told you not to read it, dummy. Mushy + Honor = swift karate chop to the neck or in your case, to the note."

I grabbed it back from her hands, folded it neatly and placed it in a pocket inside my purse, scowling.

"Well, you don't have to be a total jerk about it. Just because I have a boyfriend and you don't-"

"Oh don't even start with that, Reeves! We both know-"

"What, that you're psycho and no guy has ever been brave enough-"

"Oh you've got real nerve-"

"What about that time with the wrench-"

"The guy tried to feel my-"

"Or the time with that Yan guy-"

"He got deported back to Germany-"

"No, he requested to go back because you-"

"It was self defense-"

"Sure, it was."

"You are the most frustrating women I have ever had the-"

"Pleasure of knowing?" I grinned.

"Well, I was going to say misfortune, but whatever floats your boat."

"Oh, shut it. You know you love me."

"Sure…"

I laughed and slipped my aviators on, sighing in satisfaction at the relief the shades brought my eyes. I'd forgotten how bright the sun in California could get. The clouds had parted, for now at least, but count on my luck for it to downpour the minute we got there.

"You brought your camera right?"

I snorted, turning to look at Honor with a disbelieving look. "This is me you're talking to. I think you're forgetting who majored in _photography_, my friend."

I saw her duck her head to look out the window again. "Well, you might want to whip out that camera later. Looks like there'll be some pretty skies."

I nodded and leaned against the door, facing away from her. "Yeah, now be quite. I'm tired."

"Alright, alright, princess, I apologize for my rude behavior."

"Shhh. Princess is trying to sleep," I whispered before closing my eyes. The AC was blowing in my face and, for a person that gets easily chilly, it felt surprisingly good.

Trying to sleep may not have been the best thing for me to do. It gave me time to think and to be more specific, to think about _where_ exactly I was going.

_Santa Carla_

I had to fight back a wave of fear and swallowed the heavy lump in my throat. I honestly didn't know how I was going to handle being back there. I hadn't come home in three years…I hadn't seen…

"You want this blanket?"

I cracked open one eye and glared at Honor. "No, I'm fine."

She shrugged and focused back on the road, throwing the thin quilt behind her and into the backseat.

I was happy about seeing Dad, Carter, all my old friends, but…I already made up my mind not to go onto the boardwalk, _at least_ not at night. I couldn't run the risk of running into…_them._

_Him._

He was the whole reason I left home in the first place and now I was going back?

"_You have a good reason. Your brother's getting married."_

That may be so, however, I knew there was still another part to this story that I just didn't want to face yet.

And like so many other attempts to sleep, I had to _force_ myself to fall unconscious. I never had the golden gift of free will when it came to sleep. It didn't come naturally anymore. Those first few months away from Santa Carla, I got maybe two hours of sleep a week. I got so ill, Honor made me stay home from class for four days just to gain back all the rest I missed.

But I also had Sam and he helped me through so many of those restless nights. Only…he along with everyone else, had no idea why I had such drastic insomnia.

I was the only one. It was my secret and my curse to carry.

{***}

_I remember these beaches, I thought while I slipped my toes inside the moist, clumpy sand. The fleshy gray tide crashed around my feet, clinging to the bare skin of my legs. Foam lingered around the edges of the waters, frothing up when the ocean broke out around the sand. If I looked to my right, I could identify the boardwalk, the giant roller coaster, the lights and distant sounds and it was all so beautiful. I could see my hand reach out to the black silhouettes, almost as if it had a mind of its own. It was trying to hold onto the boardwalk, grasp it so it would never go away. _

_Of course, the boardwalk had never left, only me._

_The distinct sound of boots against sand erupted in my ears, but I didn't turn around like I would have when I was younger. The sound stopped, but I kept my back to it._

"_What do you want?" I asked it._

"_Cassidy."_

_This time I slowly turned my feet around in the sand, disrupting the even balance of the cream colored grains along the shoreline. _

_And there he was, wearing all black like I remembered. His jaw line was the same, his hair was bleached, and his eyes, they were the cold, blue, cavernous eyes I still see all too clearly in my head. Uncontrollable shivers traveled down my spine, gripping my nerves like snake venom. I felt as if his eyes were the fangs, striking me again and again in the heart._

_I wanted to tell him to leave, to go away! but I couldn't seem to bring myself to say those dismissive words. I'd quite literally dreamed about seeing him again for as long as I could remember, yet I didn't want to see him at all. He betrayed me, he was cruel to me…_

_He didn't love me._

_His eyes raked over my body and I felt suddenly very self conscious. _

"_Why are you here?"_

_Instead of answering, he held out his gloved hand for me to take, but I paused, starring at it for longer than I could count. I slowly took a few steps forward until our feet were merely four feet apart. His eyes were bright, cold, and were the most bewitching things I'd ever seen. I wished he would only close them so I could function properly._

_I gently place my hand in his, nearly sighing when I feel the strength hidden beneath black leather. But the peaceful moment was shattered when his grip suddenly became more than I could handle. I cried out, trying to rip my arm from his grasp before he forced me down onto my knees in the sand. His face was set in a savage snarl, his eyes bright yellow and cruel. _

"_Where is she?" he growled ferociously._

"_What?" I whimpered._

_His grip tightened. "Where. Is. She."_

"_Who?" I cried._

"_Cassidy."_

_I stared at him in disbelief. "It's me! I'm Cassidy! Snap out of it!"_

_But he didn't listen and I felt like my veins would burst from his steal grip. "You _will_ give her back to me!"_

"_But-"_

_And that's when I realized I was wearing a dark gray cloak. The hood covered my head and reached all the way down to my feet. Brown hair sprouted out from the openings at the top and I opened my mouth in horror. Pointy fangs poked my bottom lip and I reached up with my free hand to touch them only to notice my finger nails were so sharp they resembled claws. My fingers looked ghastly, pale, _monstrous.

"_What-"_

"_Where is she?" he barked._

"_I am her!"_

_But in fact, I wasn't. Who was I? Why was I dressed in a cloak?_

_A distinct strawberry perfume radiated off of me and I scrunched my nose up from the harsh scent. _

"_Where's Cassidy?"_

_And when I looked back up into his eyes, I said the first thing that came out of my mouth. The voice wasn't mine._

"_Dead."_

{***}

To say I woke with a shock is an understatement. I felt like a jolt of lightening shot through my body and went out my eyes. Every night, this dream got more and more complicated. Only this once did I turn into…well, whatever I was.

Who was I really?

Why did…he need so desperately to know where I was?

And…why was _Cassidy…_why was _I_ dead?

{***}

Piles upon piles of worn down manila folders stacked on top of more case files written with foul smelling ink and old coffee blotches; just another day in my job as a California cop. The title had a nice little ring to it, but unfortunately the job wasn't as pleasant. Most of the time I spent at the office was entering data into the case files and sorting them into organizers.

Fun.

All that hard work as a specialized investigator and one wrong move can bump you back down to desk duty. That's how the cause pays me back? I was sent to the hospital for three months with a severed femoral artery and a shattered collar bone and I was rewarded with newbie desk work? I put my life on the line during that gun down, but one slip up, one mistake with the suspected gang members and all my hard work seems to go completely unnoticed by the department while my slip up gets the unfortunate opposite treatment.

I won't lie, I thought about quitting, giving up all my hard work after a few weeks of this torture until I came upon a special case file. One that I had heard of when I just started out in the force. It was thought to be an accident, but my (now retired) partner, Steve Legimer, suspected foul play to be in the workings of the case. It was never proven however and marked off as another car accident. I assumed the conclusion to be accurate…until this morning. The case had quite a few documents that accompanied it, something Steve had dug into while it was still open for investigation.

_Case file: 244769_

_Suspected foul play_

_Death tole- 1_

_Victim- Nadya Flora Reeves_

_Eye- brown_

_Hair- blonde_

_Birth date- February 19, 1951_

_Age at death- 33_

_Race: Romanian/American_

_Gender: Female_

_Height: 5 feet 6 inches_

_Autopsy report- 15 broken bones, missing limbs, broken teeth, bruising, burn marks, gashes, teeth marks/puncture wounds_

_Survived by-_

_Husband- Jamie Bryan Reeves_

_Son- Carter Liam Reeves_

_Daughter- Cassidy Angela Reeves _

This was only the summary of the case. I had a lot more information tucked away in some forgotten manila folder. Sad isn't it?

I forced my eyes to train hard on the scribbled information in front of me. _Teeth marks? _That didn't sound much like a car accident to me.

I would have to look into that one.

If Steve was right about this case and I decided to bring it back into business, I could buy myself a one way ticket out of this shit hole desk job and back into detective work where I belonged. That is, if the jury would even consider re-opening this case in the first place.

It all depended on them; they could be my friend or they could be my enemy. And let me tell you, you do not want to be this girl's enemy; not fun.

"Detective Dakota?"

My attention left the case file and traveled up to the man standing in front of my desk. He looked new, probably a fledgling.

"Yes?"

"Head Detective Yarley can see you now."

I nodded my thanks to the younger cop and gathered all the information I needed to prove my point about this case being re-opened. If I could do a pretty damn good job of convincing him, then that would mean closure for this family and a bigger pay check for mama.

I was relieved to get away from that desk, although the gray, scuffed up hallways of the Police Department weren't much better. There was no life, no zest and that was something that had always bothered me. I was a _have fun_ kind of girl and sometimes this life style clashed with my personality.

Knocking on the heavy wooden door leading to the larger office, a few pieces of paper slipped from one of the folders and scattered on the tiled ground. Just another shitty ass job I had to deal with; clean up.

"Damn," I uttered, about to bend down and slip them back into the folder.

"I got it."

Ah, Officer Drew Peymen, my funniest and closest companion here at the station, always wanting to help. He was a damn good cop too, no doubt that I'd trust my life with that man. He carefully placed the papers together, handing them back to me with a raised eyebrow.

"New case?"

"Actually, an old one…way old."

He stopped with interest, cocking his head slightly to the side.

"How old are we talking here?"

"11 years."

He whistled. "Damn. What are you doing with a case that old? Were you even working here then?"

"Just started and I was thinking about trying to re-open it." I shuffled my foot, noticing my laces were untied. I would have to remember that.

"Which one? Maybe I'd remember it," he mused, bending his head to read the case file.

"Nadya Reeves."

He sucked in a breath. "I remember that one. So badly mauled, she couldn't even have an open casket funeral. Her kids must have been devastated."

"Tell me about it. Try finding out your mother's been completely torn to bits in an automobile accident. Not to mention they were just kids, the oldest barely even a teen."

"Wasn't there something odd about that case? I keep thinking there was…"

I nodded, keeping an eye on the wooden door in case it opened. "Teeth marks or possibly puncture wounds, located on her legs, jugular vein and near her spinal cord."

"Teeth marks? How the hell do you get teeth marks in a car accident?" he asked, his eyebrows shooting up to his hairline.

I shrugged. "I would ask her, but she's twenty feet below the fucking ground at the moment."

"So you think they'll re-open it?"

"I don't know. I hope so. I've been going over all the info on it and things just don't fall into place. It's almost like…" I paused, letting out an uneven breath.

"Like?"

I leaned in closer, looking around for any uninvited listeners. "Like we almost found the killer, but just…"

"Stopped?"

"Yeah, almost like we just hit a dead end. But it doesn't make any sense. We were on a role, so close and then _bam_! The case just ends and concludes it was purely an accident. What does that sound like to you?"

"A cover up."

"Exactly, and in our own department too. I really didn't want to believe it and I'm still not sure if I do, but something definitely went wrong and I think I can figure it out if they give me the chance."

"Are you sure you just don't want to get out of that desk?" he asked slyly.

"Hey, there's no shame in hating newbie work. Besides, why not kill two birds with one stone? I solve the case _and_ get my title back with a raise."

"You've got a point."

The door suddenly popped open and a balding man in his late fifties greeted me.

"Detective Dakota, come in."

I waved to Peymen and slipped inside.

"Sir," I said, shaking his hand.

"Sit down, will you?"

I leveled down into a beat up leather chair and set the case files on Detective Yarley's desk. He reached for it, opening the folder and reading quietly.

"I understand that you wish to _re-open_ this case?" he asked after some minutes while reading the various information piled in the manila folder.

"Yes, sir."

"Any particular reason? It seems sudden to bring up an 11 year old case. Your own partner worked it, if you remember."

"Yes, sir, I do, but I came across it this morning while organizing case files. I've been looking into the information sir, and things just don't add up. I would like to give this case another go. I think we can really come to an accurate conclusion, sir."

"You think the officers at this station are wrong in their work?"

I paused, careful how I answered this question. "No sir, but something about how this case ended isn't right. You of all people should understand the underground workings of this place. I'm not saying someone ratted and-"

"Did a cover up?"

I cleared my throat. "Well, sir…it seems like that to me."

"I should assign you more desk work for accusing the officers here of a cover up, but…"

"But?"

"But I think you may have a point."

He was silent for a while, starring at the off-white folders, and I noticed he didn't meet my eyes.

"Marnie."

I reached for my silver dog tags out of habit. "Sir?"

"Are you sure you want to try this? This case was serious business then and it'll be serious business now."

There was no second thought. "Positive."

He was silent.

"I'll speak to the courts about it and if they approve, you'll be in charge of the case."

"Yes, sir."

"Don't mess up this time, Marnie, or it's permanent desk work for sure."

I swallowed the nervous lump in my throat. "I understand sir."

"Good, now get back to your desk. I need the autopsy information on the Berkley case."

"Thank you, sir."

I stood as he handed me the files and opened the door, pausing as he spoke again.

"Oh, and Marnie?"

"Sir?"

"I'm saying this as a friend and not your boss. I remember this case well; I had just started out as Head Detective and I advise you to pick your partners wisely. Incidents like these don't come this often and this bad."

I stopped, my fingers gripping the door tightly. This case had shaken us all badly and it seems no one could remember why it was concluded and those that did were already retired….

Something just wasn't right and I had a feeling some of the officers here, including Detective Yarley had something to hide about this case.

"Thank you, sir. I'll take that advice."

Slipping out of the door, I leaned against the wall, fingering my dog tags again. Detective Yarley was right, this was a dangerous case and I should pick the best team possible to be with me.

For a second, I considered ignoring the case since I was well aware of what I was getting myself into. But the doubtful feeling vanished when I looked down at the files. There, sticking out of folder were pictures of Nadya's family, her son and little girl. I knew then that I _had_ to solve this case because there's nothing worse than getting a false answer and _knowing_ it's not true.

First things first, do more research on this case and then…then contact the immediate family of Nadya Reeves.

Jamie, Carter and Cassidy because they deserved to know the truth about their mother's death.

No, not just death because if I'm right…_her murder_.

{***}

I was not afraid of Santa Carla. Sure, maybe I had been when I was…younger, but now I held none of the adolescent fear. People knew me; they knew who I hung out with or rather…lived with. They stayed a good distance away, although it didn't stop them from looking. I guess you could say, I was safe from the hands of criminals and greedy virginity stealers as my mother used to call it, though I was no virgin. The protection was nice, people never laid a hand on me, but sometimes I actually did miss the interaction between other people. I enjoyed the loud noises, the lights, the sounds, _the smells._ I think the smells were my favorite part of Santa Carla. The salty tang of ocean air, smoky clouds of incents, the sticky, sugary scent of cotton candy and crushed Snicker Bars were only some of my favorite. They all reminded me of home. New Orleans, where I was originally from, was a little like Santa Carla, always busy, always…entertaining. Very social, lots of people, but there's a difference for me between New Orleans and Santa Carla besides the obvious. In New Orleans I didn't have Marko.

Meeting him changed my whole life. Before, I was just an average sixteen year old looking to fit in, trying to find out who I was. But when we met, I knew I was supposed to be with him forever. Vampires can't love, I know that, but somehow I think females are different. I still feel love for Marko even though I'm not a half anymore. And I believe he feels the strongest emotion that's possible for me.

Together we make each other happy, that's all there is to it. No, we're not perfect, but who is? That's what makes our time spent together more fun is the little imperfections of our relationship.

Things had been going fairly smoothly until I had that dream about Cassidy. She was coming back, I could just feel it. Now _when_ was another question entirely. Tomorrow, next week, three years from now? I just couldn't tell. But ever since then, the air has felt different. Not just the unease coming from my family, but the way everything _feels._ The vibes in Santa Carla were darker than they usually are, almost suffocating. Somehow, I think they have something to do with that cloaked vampire I saw in my dream. I'm afraid for us now, afraid for, dare I say it, Cassidy. Whatever that thing was, it was dangerous and out to kill.

I guess I was worrying so much over the dream, I hadn't realized I was gripping the railway too tight. My knuckles turned white and my fingers began to ache.

Cool hands relieved the railway of my death grip, gently removing them from the metal bars.

"You okay?" Marko asked, holding my hands between his.

"You looked pretty upset."

I puffed the hair out of my eyes and leaned on his shoulder. "I can't stop thinking about that dream, Marko."

His body stiffened. "Well try."

I cringed and tried to move away. The boys didn't like talking about it much.

"I'm sorry, it's just that…"

I held onto the railings again, gentler this time. "That vampire, she keeps invading my thoughts. She was so…terrifying. Just the feeling she put in the air was sickening, Marko. And now, every time I think of her, I get ill."

He made a noise in the back of his throat that sounded apologetic.

"Whatever she is, she can't hurt you and you know that."

Nothing came out of my throat; instead I watched all the crowds down below at the remaining levels of the boardwalk. They were all so blissfully unaware of our kind and of this….creature that plagued my thoughts. She was like a cancer, just progressively getting worse.

"She won't go away." My voice came out as a fearful whisper.

I wouldn't meet his eyes, but I could tell he was upset because _I was upset._ His hand met my lower back and I just couldn't handle it any longer. I pulled into his embrace, letting him hold me like a child. I knew, in a way, I let Marko think he had the dominance in our relationship because of little things like this. Hopefully, I wouldn't pay for it later.

He whispered into my hair. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you, Holly, you know that."

"I know, but it's not me I'm worried about."

Silence surrounded us as we stood on the top railings, only each other for company.

"You shouldn't worry about her."

"How can I not? How can David not be?"

He stiffened again, but I held on tight. "I don't understand, Marko. He knows, he can feel it too. Cassidy is coming back and that _thing_ is coming with her."

"David knows what he's doing, Holly."

"Does he?" it was bold to question his authority, but I had good reason to.

"Holly." Marko was right to warn me. If Max were around, I would have already received my punishment.

"She'll kill her, Marko, she'll kill Cassidy."

Marko suddenly separated us, holding my shoulders tightly, his eyes burning with anger.

"Drop it, Holly. Cassidy isn't here and she probably never will be, okay?"

I dropped my gaze, starring at my bare feet. "It's because of Star, isn't it?"

"What is?" his voice was rough, irritated.

"Why David doesn't seem concerned? Because he's already replaced her with my sister…" I couldn't help but be bitter towards him.

Star was my sister. We used to run the jewelry store together until she moved back to New Orleans for three years. She decided to come back up to Santa Carla to live with my parents while they…grieved for me.

They thought I was dead, gone, wiped off the face of the Earth. Why would they think any different? I never showed back up on their doorstep after the day I met Marko.

It was all my fault David won Star over, my fault why she's so miserable, my fault why my mother lost two children to the hands of death.

I introduced them.

I wasn't supposed to contact my sister but…I made a mistake and made a point to see her again. After that, everything went downhill.

And now I couldn't even protect my own sister.

"Holly, Star has nothing to do with this." Marko's voice was a little softer now. He knew how I felt about Star living with us. I never wanted to make my sister unhappy.

"Then why can't he understand the severity of the situation?" I pleaded, practically begging for an answer.

"Marko, this vampire was not normal. She…I don't know what she was. Just different."

He pushed a strand of hair behind my ear. "We'll figure this out together, okay? For now, just trust us. We know what we're doing."

I looked back up at his face, seeing that it was deep with worry. His hands were gentler on my arms now and I couldn't help but feel a miniscule smile tugging at my lips. He saw it too, and he kissed me on the forehead.

"You're gonna be fine, alright?"

But at that moment, I knew we weren't going to be alright.

Drifting through the breeze, a distinct perfume filled my nose. I sniffed as did Marko when the scent became overly strong.

_Strawberries._

I froze, gripping Marko's shoulders. "It's her," I whispered. I swear, if my heart still beat, I would have had a heart attack.

"I smelled strawberries in my dream."

He shook his head. "Wait. You don't-"

"Marko, I'm telling you-"

"Just wait, Holly," he snapped lightly.

We both paused for longer than we should have. He held his head up to smell the air, frowning slightly when the scent became stronger. His eyes were guarding, cautious because, just like me, he was determined to protect his family at all cost.

Then, his eyes traveled below us, narrowing when he caught wind of something.

Leaning over the edge, Marko nodded his head to a short, red headed girl walking below us that reeked of strawberries. I could hear her strong heartbeat and smell the blood whisking through her veins.

I felt sheepish then. After all, Marko had the most accurate sense of smell out of the six of us.

He pointed to the girl, raising an eyebrow at me.

"See? If you listen to me more often…" he smirked.

"But…"

"It was just a human, nothing more. Strawberry isn't an uncommon scent, Hol."

I pinched the bridge of my nose in confusion. "I could have sworn…"

"You're just hungry." He snaked his arm around my waist, the patches on his jacket scratching against my camisole.

"Maybe," my voice sounded pained.

I _was_ a little hungry…

"I saw a party going on down by the beach. I'm sure the guys-"

But I didn't let him finish his sentence. "That sounds great," I croaked, taking his arm and letting him lead the way.

His eyes were concerned, but he chose to ignore my tone of voice and began talking about how he saw a necklace down by the beach that he thought I would like.

"It reminded me of you."

A smile tugged at my lips as he went on about how we could pick it up on the way.

Despite his efforts to clear my mind from the dream, I still couldn't dismiss the image of the cloaked vampire. That ghastly hand, the gnashing fangs, that _voice._ The human girl's perfume still lingered in the air and I couldn't help but look back.

I know what I smelled, I'm not stupid.

She may have been wearing strawberry perfume, but I caught a whiff of it and it wasn't the same as the smell from my dream.

That creature was still out there, I knew it.

My dreams were never wrong. The only problem was convincing the rest of my family that she was somewhere near. I'd felt it before and now I had _proof_, though I don't think it'll go far.

I just hoped that wherever it was…it stayed there.

**{***}**

**Hopefully, this chapter wasn't disappointing because I had a lot of fun writing it and getting familiar again with my characters. Detective Marnie Dakota will be new in this story. I'm excited about introducing her into Vertigo and I hope you guys will enjoy her character.**

**Sunny **


	3. Chapter 3 History uncovered

_Hello! It's been a month hasn't it? I apologize, but here's the next installment._

_Some things you need to remember:_

_-that Paul has been taking an interest in a girl who works at a surf shop_

_-Nadya Reeves, Cassidy's mother, is Romanian_

_-Detective Marnie Dakota _

_Enjoy! _

_{***}_

"No, but really, that's your brother's name?"

"Yeah, it _really_ is."

"How embarrassing."

"It's a family name."

I shuddered. "Well, if I were a guy, I wouldn't want Ashley for a name."

Jessie rolled her eyes, flipping her reddish brown hair out of her eyes. "He goes by John, thank you very much and my mom's a big fan of Gone with the Wind."

"Yeah, I guess it could be worse."

"Good to see you're being optimistic!"

"It could be Scarlet," I mumbled, grinning when she whacked me on the arm.

Jessie and I were in the kitchen, attempting to make two chocolate cakes and ultimately failing on my end. I was never a baker after all.

"What are you guys talking about?"

Carter had walked into the room, bright eyed and grinning when he saw the chocolate batter we were mixing. You know what they say; the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.

"My brother's name," Jessie answered, holding a chocolate covered finger out for him. He tasted the batter, swirling it in his mouth before smiling.

"Did you make that?"

She nodded, turning back around to stir the batter a few more times. Flour, egg shells, and chocolate powder covered every square inch of my kitchen and it was going to be a bitch to clean up. But perfect memories called for, well, messy kitchens in this particular situation.

"Cass, did you make some?" Carter asked, looking over Jessie at me. I shrugged, popping a chocolate covered finger into my mouth and grimaced.

"Yeah, but it sucks."

They both laughed as I opened the oven door and slid my cake pan in, motioning for Jessie to hand me hers. Once they were both in and baking, my hands clapped together.

"Alright, so who's ready to party?"

A grin lit up on Jessie's face as she turned around to kiss Carter.

"Girls only."

He rolled his eyes, backing up towards the front door.

"Well, you girls get ready, I'll be out front if you need me. Damn fox got to the chickens again."

"That thing's been givin' us trouble since the day we moved here," I mumbled, wiping my messy hands on a paper towel.

Carter grunted in agreement, giving Jessie one last kiss before heading out the door.

The front door closed and the sound of Carter's heavy footsteps dimmed into the evening background of crickets and wind chimes.

"He's not going to kill it, is he?" Jessie asked, concerned.

I looked up from the towel, arching an eyebrow. "Do you think he would?"

"Well, he's got that temper…"

I shrugged, throwing away the chocolaty paper towel and setting the dirty dishes down into the sink, rinsing them off with the faucet.

"Yeah, but Carter wouldn't kill that 'ole fox. I think, personally, he enjoys getting rallied up over him."

She smiled and sighed. "So what do you think I should wear?"

"What'd ya pack?"

"Come on, I'll show you," she said, grabbing my hand and walking upstairs towards Carter's old bedroom.

Walking through this house again was like being in a dream, one that seemed all too real, yet I knew it could quite possibly disappear in a heartbeat. I would be going back to Georgia, after all.

When we came through the worn bedroom door, an opened black suitcase was sitting on the wooden floor, all the clothes neatly folded and arranged inside its handy space. The toiletries were on top, the shirts to the left and the pants and skirts to the right.

"Damn, Jessie, are you OCD or something?"

"What?" she looked at me, dumbfounded.

"Your suitcase."

"What about it?"

"It's…" I shook my head, "never mind. Let's just find you a dress."

She shrugged naively and bent down, carefully lifting the shirts up to reveal four or five colorful dresses. Pulling them out, she laid them across the bed, inspecting them critically.

"Which do you think?"

I thought a minute, studying each dress and comparing them to party scheduled for that night.

"I think the yellow and the red ones are my favorite and most appropriate, at least for your skin tone and height."

"Me too," she nodded, lost in thought.

"Here," I held the yellow sun dress up to her figure, "let's see…."

"This seems a little _too_ casual for a bachelorette party, don't you think?" I said after awhile. "Try the red."

She grabbed the red, strapless cocktail dress and held it up in front of the small mirror. For a few moments, neither of us spoke.

"Perfect," we said in unison.

"Shoes?" she inquired, staring dumbly at her open suitcase.

"Not used to wearing fancy clothing?"

"Not really. I mostly prefer jeans and a T-shirt."

I smiled. "Me too. Did you bring any heels?"

She frowned and her chocolate eyes took on a new, worried look that didn't suite her.

"Uh, no. Smart move, right?"

"Not your best one, I'll be honest. Here, I have some you can borrow."

She followed me to my room down the hall, taking notice of the wall adorned in family photos. She stopped at one, reaching out as if to touch it.

"You all look so…"

"Young?"

"Yeah," she breathed, tracing her fingers across the glassy frame.

I laughed at the picture, noticing how young we really _did_ look. Carter still had his shaggy hair and over sized T-shirt, Jesse and Winchester still were healthy, bright looking dogs, and I still had my plaid shirts and shorter blonde locks. We all looked a little thinner as well, the result of being teenagers I assumed. Since then, I had filled out in the right places, though I had gained a little more weight against my liking, but what can you do? I should just be lucky that I got curves and not a rail thin frame.

"This was taken my last year of high school."

_A few months before I met…_

_Don't start again. That's the last thing you need._

"You okay?"

I looked up to find Jessie still staring at the photographs, but she seemed to sense my unease.

I cleared my throat. "Yeah, just remembered something."

She didn't press the subject any further and I didn't explain myself. All I needed was to re-live something I had no desire to.

"Do you want the shoes or would you rather look at pictures all night?"

She snorted. "Alright, alright, I get the drift. You have no patience do you?"

"Negative."

She smirked and walked past me into my room, leaving me behind in the hallway as I stole a last glance at the photograph.

_So different then compared to now…_

{***}

Thunder cracked distantly, seeming to echo off the interior walls of the house. Jessie looked concerned as she gently moved the blinds from their place in front of the window. The sky was a light shade of pink as the sun began its decent from the tips of the atmosphere and crickets and frogs sang their mellow tunes from behind tall strands of field grass. In the way distance, heavy storm clouds were detectable with focused eyes which we both found very disconcerting.

"I can't believe this! The only day I'm not hoping for rain and I get it. Just my luck," the bride-to-be grumbled to the window pane.

I bit my lip, crossing my arms while I thought about the possible outcome of this sudden weather extremity.

_We could get soaked, ruin our hair, wreck the car, drench our nice dresses…_

_I'm pretty sure black satin, in my case, isn't supposed to get wet. _

"We already said a specific time, Jess, so," I looked at the sunflower clock on the wall, "you're about to be late for your own party," I pointed out.

"Alright, let's head out then before the rain can get us wet."

"Best idea you've had all night," I smiled, grabbing my black clutch purse and opening the front door. Carter came bustling through, nearly knocking me down before he stopped short, grinning at both of us.

"It's not every day you guys wear heals. Fancy restaurant?"

Jessie shrugged, grabbing her purse as well. "A nice bar. All the girls thought it would be fun."

"Still have to decide who's driving us home," I smiled, "oh and they're cork wedges, not heels, Carter."

He rolled his eyes. "And I'm expected to know the difference?"

"You should in case you have to buy a pair in the future."

He gave me a blank look.

"For Jessie…"

He snapped his fingers and rustled his hair in embarrassment. "Right, right."

Jessie laughed, leaning up to kiss Carter before moving past him and out the front door. He watched her go with a small smile on his face that lit up his eyes. It was nice to see him so happy again and even better that he would hopefully remain this way with Jessie.

"Bye, Carter. I'll call you if we need a designated driver."

A small laugh escaped his throat and he walked past me, squeezing my shoulder gently, a gesture that said to me, "_thank you."_

I nodded and closed the door, standing on the porch for a moment, listening to the crickets and frogs speak together in harmony. I'd forgotten how much I missed this place; all the sounds, the smells, the sights. California was certainly the place everybody wanted to be for many reasons and the night life was definitely one of them. From my position on the porch, I could see what was left of the waning moon behind wispy night clouds. Stars glittered the atmosphere and twinkled like Christmas lights on dark branches, shedding what few rays of pale light they could on the ground below. A cool breeze swept through the pine trees and rustled the needles, sending them gliding through the wind.

This place was and always would be home, no matter where I moved in the world.

"Are you coming?"

Jessie's voice interrupted me from my thoughts as it rang loudly in my ears.

"Coming!"

The cork wedges gently sank into the soft earth as I stepped down from the porch. Tonight was Jessie's night and I prayed that nothing happened…well, that I didn't have another trip down memory lane.

I couldn't let him ruin what I had worked so hard to build since the day I left Santa Carla.

{***}

"I'll have a margarita please."

"Oh that sounds yummy," Jessie smiled, grabbing my arm.

"Make that two margaritas!" I called to the bartender who nodded in response.

The bar was a pretty interesting place. A blue tint bounced off everything that stood still as a result from the neon lights hanging from the ceiling, U2 reverberated around the room from speakers hidden somewhere among the grayish haze of cigarette smoke, and nice looking booths and tables were scattered around the area, all completely filled with men and women dressed in cocktail dresses and crisp linen shirts.

The atmosphere was friendly and inviting, something that was quite relaxing to my bundle of nerves. The bartender soon came back with our drinks, sliding them across the polished oak wood bar.

"Two margaritas," she smiled, wiping her hands on a dish towel that was thrown over her shoulder.

"Thanks."

Jessie and I pulled out a few bills from the depths of our purses and set them on the bar, turning around to gaze at the crowd dancing in motion to _Trip Through Your Wires_. Nearly all of Jessie's friends were present for the party, including my dear cousin Honor. And boy was she the firecracker tonight!

"I don't believe her dress can get any brighter," Jessie said loudly over the music and pointed to my redheaded cousin.

I laughed and took a sip of my drink. "Green is her signature color, didn't you know?" I asked teasingly.

Honor's dress was literally the brightest thing in the bar with its lime green sequins and small bow tied at the waist. She attracted men and women alike with her exuberant dancing and fleeting flashes of her pretty white smile. Honor loved U2, but more than that, she loved a good party and she sure knew how to show her appreciation for one.

She motioned for us to come over and dance with her, throwing us a wide grin that sparkled under the florescent lights. We both shook our heads, laughing when she pouted.

"Come on!" she mouthed.

"No!" I shouted this time, smiling at her as she rolled her eyes and turned back around to dance.

"I can see how you two are related," Jessie spoke with a warm smile.

I scoffed. "I don't see it."

She swirled her drink a little before gesturing to my face. "You two look a lot alike."

"Oh."

"You thought I meant personality?"

I blushed. "Yeah."

We both burst into boisterous laughter then, holding onto the bar for support, trying not to spill our drinks.

"I'm pretty sure there is no one who can compare to Honor!" I said in between strained breaths.

She nodded and puffed out a breath to move her auburn hair from her eyes. "God, no. I've only known her for a few weeks and already she's made it to the top of my Most…Interesting Persons list."

"Interesting, right. I think there's a better word for my cousin."

She chuckled and took a rather large sip of her margarita. Jessie was a pretty girl, not gorgeous, but pretty like the girl next door type. She had a slender nose, pale pink lips, and an angular face that made her attractive to guys like my brother; the down to earth type. They were also somewhat High School Sweethearts which, I guess, contributed to their relationship.

"Oh! That reminds me," I mumbled, rummaging through my purse for the small jewelry box I brought to the party. It was cream in color with a silver Tiffany's logo on the top cover.

"Happy, er, marriage?"

She laughed and plucked the box from my hand, opening it fully.

"Oh, Cassidy, they're beautiful!"

"You like them?

She held the diamond dangles up to her ear and smiled warmly, her eyes glazing over with appreciation.

"Of course I like them! Thank you," she hugged me tightly. I could smell her apricot perfume mingling with my peppermint fragrance. It was a nice mixture, I will say.

She pulled back when someone tapped her on the shoulder, turning around before squealing in delight.

"Maddie! You came," she grinned, pulling her other friend into an embrace.

They began talking then about something I had no idea about, so I turned back to the bartender, smiling when she leaned against the bar to talk with me.

"Is that your sister?" she asked, nodding to Jessie.

"No, soon to be sister-in-law."

"Ah. Seems like a pretty nice girl."

"She is," I smiled warmly, taking a long sip of my margarita. The drink felt smooth as it traveled down my throat and settled in my stomach.

"Having fun?" she tried to make small talk.

I shrugged. "Sure."

She held up her finger to signal _one second_ while she fixed another customer a whiskey sour. She came back, leaning her elbows on the bar.

"If you're having so much fun, then why don't you seem too excited?"

I raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, shaking her head, "my name's Jacqueline."

I smirked, shaking her outstretched hand. "Cassidy."

"So do you work here all day?" I questioned, taking slight notice of her appearance. She was a unique individual with an exotic, Amazon looking face, excessively long golden blonde hair that curled a little less than my own with chocolate streaks I could tell were professionally done, and wide mint green eyes. She stood at, I estimated five foot seven and was unbelievably tanned.

"Only from six to eleven. During the day I work at a local surf shop down by the beach."

"Oh yeah? Which one?" Surfing was always something I wanted to learn how to do. Living in Santa Carla most of my life, I probably should have gotten off my lazy ass and tried it out.

"Dawson's," she flipped her hair out of her eyes and reached down to grab an empty beer mug out from under the counter.

"You ever been?" she inquired, cleaning out the glass with her dish towel.

"Never, but I always wanted to learn how to surf since I was a little kid."

A smile broke out on her face, revealing straight, white teeth. Was there anything _not_ pretty about this girl?

"It's a lot of fun, I'll tell you what. And forget about all those bullshit stories of shark attacks near the coast. As long as I've been around here, there hasn't been one reported attack. These waters are safe," she glowed, her face lighting up as she figured we had something we could relate to now.

I laughed. "Yeah, me neither."

Her lips quirked up in a small smile. "So how long have you lived here?"

I paused, my mind going blank for what seemed like eternity. She raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"How long…?"

"Right, right," I stuttered, "uh, just visiting."

She nodded, turning around to fill the mug with on tap beer. My eyes followed the glass as it slid across the bar to a waiting customer, glad for the sudden distraction.

I'm not quite sure why I didn't just tell her I lived here before. The lie just seemed to slip right off my tongue.

"So, are you a local?" I asked, smoothing out the black material of my dress and fiddling with the lace choker attached to my neck.

She nodded, smiling warmly at me. "Been here all my life. Don't think I ever really want to leave it for good. There's just something about this place that's…"

"Immoral…" I muttered under my breath.

By pure accident, she heard my ramblings. "Uh, I was gonna say enticing, stimulating, animating even, but…"

Color stained my cheeks and I fought the urge to look away. "Right, sorry."

She looked a little stunned. "I know about all the crime in Santa Carla, but I'm talking about the spirit of this place, the…the _feel!_" she gestured with her hands, smiling again and looking around.

I shrugged, trying to at least relate to her a bit. "Sure, I understand what you mean. Santa Carla does have its own character."

She bit her lip, mulling something over. "You know, you should come down sometime."

I gave her a questioning look, cocking my head to one side.

"To the surf shop! They give lessons there."

My hand collided with my forehead in utter embarrassment. "Sorry, I'm being a blonde tonight."

Her laugh was sweet and short. "Hey, I have those moments too."

The last of my margarita disappeared and the glass was handed to Jacqueline.

"Yeah, that sounds…that sounds nice actually."

"Dawson's has all the equipment too and I bet if you want, I can make the arrangement to teach you," she replied kindly.

"Really? Well, I'm here for a few-"

My sentence was cut short by a mesh of boisterous noises echoing from outside in the parking lot. Everyone's heads began to turn towards the noise that soon overwhelmed even the blasting music.

Jacqueline and I both turned towards the sound, confusion boiling in our eyes. My brow furrowed as the clamor increased to loud shouting and the sounds of objects being tossed and broken reached my ears.

"What the hell is that?" Jacqueline growled, hopping over the bar and jogging towards the front entrance. The music was turned down a notch and the shouting became much louder.

I saw Honor and Jessie exchange worried glances as they abandoned their spots on the dance floor and walked over to my side, scratching their heads in confusion.

"What's going on?" Jessie asked, leaning on her tip toes to see above Jacqueline.

"It sounds like…"

"Dylan, cut the music!" Jacqueline yelled before thrusting the front door open and storming outside.

The three of us rushed after her, eager to see what was going on in the parking lot. The bartender stood just outside of the front door, her hand covering her mouth and her eyes wide with worry and rage.

"What's going on?" Honor demanded, thrusting her gaze ahead of us.

A massive crowd was surrounding what looked like an enormous street fight. The extensive amount of people inside the brawl were moving so fast they seemed to blur as punches were thrown, fists met skin, the heels of boots connected with knees and groins and the blood seemed to pool everywhere. The shouting was coming from inside the vicious scuffle, but there were so many men it was hard to tell who it was originating from.

"Godammit!" Jacqueline hissed, ripping her black apron from her waist and throwing it to the ground.

"What?"

"That's my boyfriend in there!"

My eyes widened as I looked back at the fight. "In _there?"_

"Yeah, and now I'm gonna have to bail him out….again!"

She took off running, disappearing into the crowd.

"Wait! You could get hurt!" Jessie cried, reaching out after her.

We all watched the brutal attack with wide eyes and bitten nails as we cringed at every broken tooth and hack of blood being spit out onto the pavement. It seemed the fight was slowly dying down however; only a few more scrapers remained standing.

"Do you think they're alright?" Jessie's voice revealed her concern for the injured men clutching their noses or stomachs in pain.

Honor gently squeezed her arm and gave her a reassuring look. "My brothers got into fights at school all the time. The only thing you can do is let them have it out."

That was the plan we were all betting on until the men that were sitting out….got back in. That was when it got chaotic.

The fists started flying all at once, the blood spattered out of every mouth and the screams got even louder. Jessie gave Honor a disbelieving look.

"Let them _have it out?"_

Honor looked worried as she kept glancing between men, wincing as one in particular received a broken nose and a few missing teeth.

"Do you think we should do something?"

"Well, Jacqueline went in there so…"

"That's all I need to hear," Jessie answered before taking off into the crowd.

"Wait for us!" Honor called, running after her.

"This is so fucking retarded," I muttered, following not close behind. At first I was a little skittish when it came to the blood and gore, but soon my "maternal instincts" kicked in and all I wanted to do was help these people.

I searched for the most injured men, the ones who were lying on the ground, rolling pain. I knew this was stupid and very, very dangerous going headfirst into a street fight, but Jessie was right; these men were hurt and needed help.

A flash of red crossed my vision and I headed in the direction of the blur. A man was crouched against the pavement, clutching his abdomen and groaning in pain. Droplets of crimson were being spat out onto the pavement as he tried to clean up his mouth.

I put my hand on his shoulder gently. "Sir? Are you alright?"

He looked up, his nose flowing with a steady stream of blood and opened his mouth in surprise.

"Are you seriously hurt anywhere?" I asked, crouching down next to him. He shook his head, attempting to regain his posture as he stood up. I held out my hand for him to stabilize himself on which he took gladly.

"No, I just…" he trailed off, staring at my face with an odd look in his eyes.

"You just…?"

He shook his head, saying nothing in return.

The man was younger than I originally took him for. Possibly in his early twenties, he had short brown hair and dry gray eyes that were already starting to form ugly purple bruises around the edges. From his scraggly beach attire, his muscular build and the other men surrounding him, I could tell exactly who he was; Surf Nazi. Wow, it had been a long time since I had seen these guys…..

But that didn't matter now because he was hurt.

"Here, let's get out of here first, then we can get you bandaged up."

He nodded dumbly and I assumed the shock of the fight was slowly starting to sink in. My brother had gotten into a fight once at school and he looked just like this kid; shocked, numb, and scared.

I took his hand and started to walk in the direction of the bar, surprising myself when I saw not only Surf Nazis but just regular looking people. Maybe it wasn't the Nazi's who had started the fight…

Out of the blue, as we were reaching close proximity to the bar, flashing lights bounced off the window panes and blinded all of us, causing me to shield my eyes. Sirens blared in direction of the main fight and the boy holding my hand started to panic.

"It wasn't our fault! You gotta help me!" he cried, tugging on my arm. His eyes were wide with fear at the showing of the police which told me he definitely had something to do with it besides participating.

"Hey, hey, calm down, alright!" I shushed him, stopping in my tracks. A few cops got out of the car, slamming the doors loudly. One in particular, a female officer, ran over to a nasty side fight, putting her hand on her gun and breaking the two men apart.

"No, I gotta go!" he shouted, ripping his hand from mine and taking off down the road, stumbling slightly from his injuries.

"Wait!" I cried, starting to follow him but figuring it really wasn't worth getting caught up in this whole shenanigan. I stared after the man, pinching the bridge of my nose in worry.

"Fuck."

"Get on the ground!"

The shouting could be heard from where I was standing. They were starting to arrest people, really anyone who looked to be partaking in the fight.

I needed to get out of there and quick.

"Honor! Jessie?"

I could only hope they didn't get themselves into more trouble than they anticipated.

My legs carried me only a short distance, my wedges slowing me down more than I would have liked, before I heard someone shouting in my direction.

"You there! Stop where you are!"

I froze and felt my heartbeat pick up a few paces. My insides screamed at me not to turn around. Maybe it was out of fear, but I knew it was my intuition.

_You've done nothing wrong._

I quickly turned around, determined to set the tables straight and get out of there as fast as humanly possible.

I should have listened to my thoughts.

I hadn't realized someone had been in close proximity to me and I don't think they realized it either. As I spun around to discuss matters with the cop, I should have known things would not go my way. They never do….

My heart nearly stopped from fear. _"David?"_

And everything stopped.

The world seemed to slow down its pace, everything moved in slow motion, people's voices became nothing but a soft, distant sound in the background of my imagination.

His eyes betrayed his deep surprise when we almost smacked heads and he stepped back, starring at me in disbelief. When we had bumped against each other, it wasn't like static electricity they say you feel in the movies; it was harsh, forceful and very uncomfortable. We quickly pushed away from each other.

He looked exactly the same from my dreams; his hair was blonde, his jaw lightly stubbled, his attire still just as black as a raven, but his eyes, they were different. Somehow, if it was even possible, they were colder than I remembered. Blood trickled out of his nose and he seemed a little flustered from the fight that he had obviously participated in.

I could tell it didn't register to him at first that I, Cassidy Reeves, was standing before him in plain sight. Hell, it wasn't even registering with _me._

The disbelief was still bright in his eyes, but the emotion didn't last long and a hateful rage seethed in his eyes as his jaw line tightened.

He said nothing.

We stood there, him glaring at me and me, well, almost numb with shock.

The cop suddenly appeared by our side, hands on her hips and her eyes tight with frustration. It was obvious she didn't want to be here; she had someplace else to be.

"Detective Marnie Dakota," she said, nodding her head, "do you know this man by any chance?" she growled, shooting a hard glance at David.

_She's trying to sort out the guilty ones._

Before I could answer, shouts and outbursts came from a little ways away, distracting me. I turned my head and my eyes widened involuntarily at the sight of Jacqueline throwing her hands around, shouting loudly, and scolding…Paul?

"You know, it gets real fucking annoying every time I have to deal with the cops for you when you get into fights, Paul! This isn't funny, damnit, why the hell are you laughing?"

So Paul was Jacqueline's _boyfriend?_

It was so odd to see him again, to see both of them, that it felt like my mind had gone blank. These boys had been in my life so strongly and now here they were again under different circumstances. It made me wonder where the other two were.

"Ma'am?"

The cop's voice snapped me back into reality. I looked into her eyes, seeing her exhaustion and felt some of my own. This was too much to handle.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"I said, do you know this man?"

I stared back up into David's chilly blue eyes, seeing his distrust and bitter anger there as he looked upon my face. It seemed like he wanted to say something, but his pride just couldn't let him.

After all the times I had dreamed, literally _dreamed_, about seeing him again against my wishes, now finally that moment was here. Yet why did it seem so unnatural?

"Please answer the question, ma'am. Do you know this man?"

I pulled my gaze away from him and rested upon the cop.

"No, I've never seen him in my life."

And that was the end of it.

"And you, hey buddy I'm talking, you ever seen her?" she snapped, throwing her questions in David's face.

His jaw hardened even more until a cold smirk settled upon his lips.

"Never."

She looked back and forth between us and, obviously seeing no bruises on me, and turned towards David.

"Alright, pal, you come over here with me. We're gonna get to the bottom of this bullshit."

"I don't get paid enough to deal with small town crap," she muttered.

He scoffed, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it before pompously following in her direction. He never looked back as he melted into the crowd.

I stood there, expecting myself to faint, to throw up, or cry, to breakdown like they do in the movies and romance novels.

Instead, I brushed my hair from my eyes and walked back to the bar, ready for another drink.

I didn't come here for a lost love or to bring back old memories, I came here for my brother and_ only my brother._ I had a boyfriend, a nice guy who genuinely cared for me, and a great family; I didn't need another complication in my life.

_That's right…I've _never_ met you nor do I plan to ever to do so._

_What a day…_

{***}

Small time crime, _that's_ what I get dumped with? I came into the main city to do some questioning and investigating on this murder case and I have to break up a street fight full of the village idiots? Just my luck.

We arrested about ten of the scrapers and brought them back into town, which left me without much back up. Not that I really needed any to ask questions, but you never know how some people will react.

When I left the scene, I was flustered and angry as hell which probably wasn't a good thing seeing as I needed to be calm and collected to ask serious questions.

This is why I'm not a cop, I'm a _detective._

After doing an extensive amount of research about Nadya Reeves, I came to find out that her husband still lived in Santa Carla, her son was getting married, but her daughter had moved away. That might prove to be of some difficulty, but I would have to work around it if I planned on getting anywhere with this case.

I also learned some interesting things as well, like Nadya used to take Fred Astaire Ballroom Dance classes, she collected crucifixes, oddly, and had an interesting blood line tracing back to ancient Romania and Hungary. Someone named Erzabet Bathory, called The Blood Countess of Hungary, was a direct descendent of Nadya which shocked me entirely. Apparently, Erzabet, or Elizabeth, tortured her house maids gruesomely, sometimes biting off chunks of flesh and leaving literally so much blood you could scoop it up with water pails.

Gross.

I knew that Nadya's family had emigrated from Romania and lived somewhere in Georgia; maybe I could get a hold of their house number and give them a call.

I also learned from doing a little more research that Nadya and her husband had, at one point, worked with a man named Max Haddinson. Rumor has it, apparently, that they had something going on between the two of them…

Which was why I was on the way to Max's business in the first place, _before_ I got stopped to break up a stupid street fight.

The neon sign glowed brightly from the top of the building, _Video Max_, and I put on a fake smile. Hopefully I could get something out of this guy that could get me a lead.

The front door was light and opened with ease, a bell tinkled above my head, and a massive white dog stood wagging his tail near the counter.

The place was crowded that night, mostly with teenagers looking for a good horror movie and I shook my head, thinking back to those days of being, well, younger. At thirty-three, I didn't have much time for fun anymore.

A pretty girl with darker skin and curly hair greeted me as I placed my hands upon the counter, waiting for the owner of the store to arrive.

"Hi, welcome to Video Max, can I help you with anything officer?" she asked, noticing the badge hanging from my neck.

"_Detective_, and yeah, can you tell me if Max Haddinson is here?"

Her smile dropped and she scratched her head, thinking. "Is he in trouble?"

"No, I just need to ask him a few questions."

Her eyes clouded, but she shook her head, turning around. "One minute, please."

She left, going through a door in the back while I stood waiting, tapping my nails against the glass counter top. The store had a modern feel to it with plenty of color and a wide selection of video tapes. Some of the kids in there gave me wary looks like they thought they were going to get busted for whatever small crime they committed recently. I hated to break it to them, but I wasn't there to put some dumb town kid behind bars, I was there for answers.

The back door re-opened and a middle aged man with white rimmed glasses and shoulder pads walked out, a wide smile on his face. He looked nice enough, but I never let my guard down. As a woman, I had to be more intimidating than most to get what I needed.

"Hi, I'm Max Haddinson. Maria told me you wanted to ask me a few questions?" he inquired, holding out his hand for me.

We both gave a firm handshake, nodding our heads in respect.

"Yes, I'm Detective Marnie Dakota, and I've been investigating a rather old murder case and was hoping you could help me."

His eyes remained kind, but guarded, so I continued.

"Max," I started, pulling out a picture of the blonde victim from the manila folder and putting it out on the counter in front of him.

"Tell me everything you know about Nadya Reeves."

{***}

_So, this chapter took forever to write mostly because I've been super busy. I should update more often though…_

_All of these things including the Blood Countess, Jacqueline and other things will be explained with the story. Everything will tie together and hopefully will make sense :D_

_The Blood Countess was actually a real person and will be explained in much more detail in later chapters!_

_Please leave a review if you enjoyed it!_

_Sunny_


	4. Chapter 4 Plans of confusion

_Hello! I've actually managed to update sooner this time. This chapter is important and hopefully will make sense. I've spent two days with another writer friend who has helped me plan out this story and get down the outlines for each chapter and such, so hopefully there will be more updates. _

_Enjoy!_

_Sunny_

_{***}_

_But I'm here to tell you  
There's something else  
The afterworld_

A world of never ending happiness  
You can always see the sun, day or night

So when you call up that shrink in Beverly Hills  
You know the one - Dr Everything'll Be Alright  
Instead of asking him how much of your time is left  
Ask him how much of your mind, baby

Cause in this life  
Things are much harder than in the afterworld  
In this life  
You're on your own

Prince's _Let's Go Crazy_ lyrics that blasted from the radio were so true in every sense of the word. Vampires had no "afterworld", we had one world and one world only. We received no passage to the next life, into heaven because in this life, _we were on our own._

I smirked at the thought; it wasn't so bad really, not when you had everything you needed; food, fun, sex, booze, _family._ Really, the last one didn't fit in with the rest, but hey, who could argue with the protection of the clan?

And when I said protection, I meant it. If they were smart, people didn't mess with me because they knew what was coming for them in the long run. Marko would slaughter their asses faster than they could say "vampire".

So I knew I was safe, leaning up against that cold brick wall outside of Dawson's Surf Shop, even as the rough and tough members of Santa Carla society lingered around the entrance like disease on infested vermin. My nose scrunched in disgust as my skin crawled. Even for a vampire, I couldn't stand people like them, _criminals._ Not like robbery, but more along the lines of rape and brutal homicide. I didn't consider what I or the boys did as murder, more along the lines of _survival. _

Like I said, most wouldn't even look at me funny unless they wanted to get their eyes gouged out, but the boardwalk was a big place and not everybody knew…

Sensitive hearing was a bonus when it came to being a vampire, so I picked up on their conversation almost immediately.

"Go talk to her, man."

"Are you serious, bro? There's no way in hell."

"Fine then, I'll go!"

The two boys were huddled together just towards my right, inching closer towards me with every childish word they spoke. I almost laughed right then and there and not just at their attitude. Their ridiculous attire was almost enough to send my ribs a warning saying _"you're going to be sore in the morning"_. It was obvious they were rich kid material that tried to turn gangster. Let's just say linen and leather don't mix. I didn't laugh, but I _did_ crack a small smile, one that I made sure they couldn't see. Being Marko's, how would you put it in biker terms, "old lady", I had a reputation to uphold, one that was quite important to me. People had thought Holly Laroche had disappeared, run away mysteriously into the night three, nearly four years ago and had never come home. That was true. Holly Laroche didn't exist anymore, at least not to the general public. I dressed differently now, no longer setting myself up with billowy, glitter covered skirts. I had switched over to jeans, more often than not, bright yellow Doc Marten boots as a permanent shoe choice, and normally black or purple T-shirts with the scuffed up, decked out leather jacket (I realize how cliché it is, but hey, I rode motorcycles now) that I had taken off of one of my female victims. Luckily, we wore the same size. The girl, I guess, preferred to have more pockets than she could handle seeing as the jacket had enough zip-ups to last me through an entire year without using them all.

I went by a different name too, for people who thought they knew me. It was like Holly had never existed. Scout Lee as they called me. A nice name for a new persona, I will say. That's coming from the genius mind of Paul on dope and alcohol.

I looked different too, besides the new clothes. Max had decided to let me get a bit older before becoming a full vampire, for safety precautions. I was nearly eighteen when I fed, which left me looking a little different. Now, the chances of somebody really recognizing me were virtually impossible. I grew my hair out to my middle back as well and put a few caramel lowlights just to be safe. The face of Holly Laroche no longer existed to the public. Scout Lee roamed the streets.

I knew those boys were beside me even before I saw them. A smile tugged at my lips as I pulled out a Marlboro pack from one the pockets of my jacket. The spark from the lighter was brief and soon the smoke from the cigarette billowed around me like a veil. Smoking was, not necessarily a bad habit sense I couldn't die, something I had picked up from Paul and David. It also added to the new persona. Everyone who knew "Holly" knew that she didn't smoke.

I will admit, I missed being myself instead of this street kid, but it was for my own safety. Acting differently around strangers wasn't all that hard; at least I could be myself around Marko.

So when those boys came strolling up, attempting to suppress the nervousness that was rolling off them in waves, it wasn't difficult to push away Holly and bring Scout out to play.

"Evening, boys," I breathed out a cloud of smoke.

They stopped dead in their tracks, their calm domineer quickly evaporating.

I shuffled my boot in the dirt and held out the Marlboro box to them, raising an eyebrow. "Cigarette?"

They were still for a moment before they each took a cancer stick from the crumpled box.

"Thanks," one nodded before he lit up with the lighter I tossed him.

"No problem."

Somewhere in the distance, a subtle rumble of thunder rolled through the streets. A few of the shady characters around gave us odd looks that I chose to ignore. I might have been a vampire, but humans with bad intensions were still a threat.

"So, uh, are you new around here?" the younger of the two asked. He looked nervous; I could tell by the way his eyes kept darting around the alley.

I laughed quietly. "_Me?_ I think it's _you guys_ who are the new ones."

"What makes you say that?" the eldest growled, his dark eyes shifting down to my face. He was a pretty tall guy.

"Well, for one, you obviously don't know the terrain," I said quietly, gesturing around the alley, "and two, you don't know a Carla resident when you see one. You'll have to get a few lessons on that. It could save your life."

He snorted rudely, muttering something under his breath. I took another drag of my cigarette.

"So who are you guys? Where're ya from?"

The youngest spoke. "I'm, uh, I'm Seth and this is my brother, Daryl. We're from out of town."

"No really? I thought you were birthed on this very pavement," I smiled, "I'm Scout."

They both laughed a little. "Nice to meet you, Scout. We're from New York."

My eyebrows shot up and I place my hands on my hips, the cigarette still burning between my fingers.

"So what the fuck are you doing here?"

Daryl smiled. "Family vacation. Just thought it'd be nice to see Cali."

"You do realize this is the murder capital or the world, right? You could have gone to San Fran and been safer."

Seth coughed nervously as another one of Carla's oddballs gave us a dangerous look.

"Daryl, I thought you said that was a load of crap?" he muttered under his breath.

I laughed and waved my cigarette around. "Crap? No, I don't think so. This town has some interesting characters if you haven't already noticed."

"Then what are you doing out here all alone?" Daryl inquired suspiciously.

"Waiting for a friend."

"Maybe we should wait with you."

A snort escaped my throat. "Yeah, right. Look boys, if you came to admire that's fine, but I'm not precious cargo or anything. I can take care of myself."

"Oh really? And how do you know _these guys_ won't give you trouble?" Seth gestured around him. They were both trying to play up the tough guy scenario. I'm sorry, but only my _boyfriend_ could do that around me, not some nice-guy newbies.

"Because I'm the only reason you guys aren't waking up in some alley without your money…or your pants."

They fell silent, obviously pissed and surprised.

Finally Daryl broke the silence. "Wow, so it _is_ true."

I raised an eyebrow. "What's true?"

"What they say about Santa Carla girls."

Seth stared at his brother and it was obvious from the way his mouth was turned down in a frown that he wanted his brother to shut up.

"_Daryl…"_

"And what would that be?" I asked nonchalantly, puffing out another breath of smoke and turning away from them uninterested.

"That you're all conceited. Obviously you think too highly of yourself if you assume _you're_ the reason those guys haven't approached us yet. Watch, when we leave, you'll be in deep shit," Daryl fumed, his fingernails digging into his palms, turning his knuckles white.

For a brief second, I felt my fangs trying to slide through my gums, but I took a deep breath and with it, gave the two boys a loud laugh.

"Wow, what are you guys, four?"

Daryl narrowed his eyes.

"If you're trying to pick up girls, you're not doing a very good job," I laughed and pointed to the eldest brother.

"Maybe if your brother wasn't such a dick, Seth, we could have had a good thing going."

Seth scowled at Daryl and I took that free time to stomp out my cigarette and turn away from them, placing my fingers on the handle of Dawson's front entrance.

"Well, it's _been a pleasure,_ _boys_. Maybe we'll see each other again. Remember, ask for Scout Lee," I grinned coolly, opening the door and leaving the two of them to bicker in the dark.

Dawson's AC was definitely working, I determined as a blast of cold air hit my face. A small bell chimed above me and the wooden floorboards creaked under my Doc Martens; all little signals to the employees that a new person had entered the store.

"I'll be right with you!" a disembodied voice called from the back.

A few customers gave me a quick once-over before determining I was just another regular Carla resident and went back to their shopping. To pass time, I glanced over the surf boards.

Maybe surfing would have been fun if I could actually participate. I'm pretty sure you needed sunlight to do it and that was something I was…lacking.

"Hey, finding everything you need?" a teasing voice sounded from behind me.

I smirked and raised a "thumbs up".

"Right on, man."

The voice laughed behind me and she leaned up against a neon green surf board.

"Whatcha doing here, Scout?" Jacqueline asked, brushing a strand of curly blonde hair from her eyes.

"Oh, you know, just thinking about investing in a surf board. Marko thinks it would be totally sexy if I tried balancing on one."

She snorted and rolled her eyes. "I can definitely see you in a bikini, _riding the waves_," she gestured dramatically with her hands.

I drummed my fingers on the board, backing up towards the counter.

"Thanks, but no thanks. Anyways, I'm here for something different, Jac."

An eyebrow rose. "Oh?"

I nodded, taking notice of all the customers still in the shop. "Meet me 'round back."

She shrugged lightly, walking off in the direction of another customer.

The back entrance to Dawson's was slightly calmer than the front; there were basically no people. It was nice not having to worry about being _Scout Lee_ for a few minutes. Jacqueline only knew me as Scout, not as Holly. She had only been going steady with Paul for a few months now. She didn't know who I really was, Holly Laroche _or_ vampiress.

A chilly autumn wind blew through the alley way, shifting the foggy cloud bank that hugged the palm trees. In a matter of a few minutes of being in Dawson's, the outside atmosphere had changed. A storm was rolling in. I could tell yesterday that one was brewing in the clouds.

Because of the intense fog, vision beyond the narrow alley was virtually impossible, even with specially equipped eyes. Moonlight gave little help to illuminate the shadows and I thanked my lucky stars I was a vampire.

At least I had "weapons" if anyone decided to suddenly pop out of the fog and attack me.

I lit another cigarette in attempt to pass the time waiting for Jacqueline. Pretty soon, the smoke and the fog blended so well, I couldn't differentiate between the two. A low hum resonated from my throat as I smoked and paced back and forth. Walking always helped pass the time.

"_Holly…"_

My foot froze out in front of me. The cigarette twitched in my fingers and I did a quick once over to make sure no one had accompanied me in the alleyway that I hadn't picked up on before.

The breeze came through again, shaking the palm leaves above me. The only sound that remained was the vegetation rustling with the wind.

I continued my pacing, convinced that I had only heard a brief inflection of the tiny fear that still resided in the back of my mind. I was still a female, a short, petite girl living in Santa Carla, pacing the alley and I wasn't the strongest vampire out there. I had a lot to be afraid of.

Now, every smart person knows you don't call out _"hello?" _when you hear strange noises. There're too many horror movies that can teach you that basic rule. But, in a moment of panic, as they say, I let go of my intelligence…

"Hello?"

A loud _crash!_ screamed out behind me and I jumped nearly a foot in the air, deciding if my heart still beat then it would have been racing a mile a minute.

No one stood behind me, only a vacant alley way. A turned over trash can had caused the disturbance and the silver lid rolled unevenly across the pavement. A dangerous chill gripped my spine.

"Shit," my voice came in a hoarse whisper.

I was the only one in that alley…that I could see.

The lid rolled until it stopped at my feet, slamming loudly to the ground. I starred at it, wondering how exactly the trash can had flipped on its own.

_Well, it was a bit windy…_

"_Holly…"_

A quick yelp escaped my throat as my feet spun around on the spot. A shadow seemed to move quickly away from my line of vision, seeping back into the brick wall. Was it a person or just…a plain shadow?

People say all the time, _"maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me," _but that excuse didn't work for me. Vampire eyes don't make mistakes, they only recognize the faults of others and whoever was out there had slipped up.

I had seen them.

The cigarette was slowly crunched under a yellow Doc Marten, my weight was shifted to my right foot, and my back began to arch. A basic defensive position was in play.

I scanned what little room was surrounding me, checking for any signs of something out of place. The wind had seemed to stop, yet little whispers continued to float in the air.

Everyone would find it disconcerting if their named was being called, vampires are no exception. It could have been a hunter, a rapist, anything dangerous. The first was the main difficulty I had to watch my back for. Hunters were experienced and even the most skilled of vampires sometimes just couldn't get away.

"_Show yourself," _I thought dryly.

I took in a big breath through my nose and I shouldn't have even been surprised at what I picked up.

"Strawberries," I breathed.

It was here, watching me, waiting for something.

Just as I was about to step forward to investigate, a large shaft of light illuminated the alley and cast my shadow against the wall. The sudden brightness of the light shocked me. I lifted my arm to cover my eyes and hissed.

"Hey, Scout! What…" Jacqueline began before seeing me, arm raised, in a defensive stance and breathing heavily.

"Are you okay?" her voice was concerned as she stepped towards me, letting the back door slam shut.

I slowly lowered my arm and took a few cautious steps around the area, my nose to the air.

"Jacqueline, we need to go."

"What? Why? Scout, what's going on?" she asked, panicked and looking around with a frenzied expression.

I shook my head. "Nothing. It's just…it's dangerous out here."

"Are you sure? You looked really upset a few minutes ago."

"Yeah, I'm fine. We need to get out of here though."

"But-"

"Now!" The word came out as a shout by accident.

Jacqueline's green eyes were wide with frantic submission at my tone. Even if she was taller than me, Jac just had a docile and obedient character. She was only aggressive when and if the time called for it, which wasn't very often.

"I-I'm sorry," I stuttered, glancing around warily again.

A harsh breeze coasted in between the two of us, bringing with it withering fall leaves that smelled crisp and clean. No trace of strawberries.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she gently touched my arm.

I cleared my throat. "Yeah, fine."

My cover up persona was quickly thrown up again and I regained composure.

"The boys are waiting for us down by the pier," I began, walking through the fog despite my growing anxiety. Jacqueline was close behind me; I could hear her heartbeat and it was surprisingly very calm.

Strange…

"I was actually hoping we could take the long way. There's something I need to discuss with you."

She slipped on a gray sweatshirt she had been carrying and smoothed it out with heavily jeweled fingers, before raising an eyebrow.

"Shoot."

"Look, you may not remember her, but you met a girl the other night at the bar. Blonde hair, blue eyed, she was wearing a black-"

"Satin dress? Yeah, I remember her. Real nice girl. Cassidy I think was her name."

I nodded, impressed. "Yeah, her. Look, this may sound…strange, but I need your help with something."

She waited silently, listening to the sound of our shoes against the gravel sidewalk. Her flip flop crunched a broken leaf.

I took a deep breath inward. "I don't want you asking any questions. None. When this is all said and done, I'll handle the issues, but until then, I just need you to cooperate. Got it?"

She smirked. "It would be helpful to know what exactly you're talking about, Scout."

I stuffed my hands inside two larger pockets of my jacket.

"Cassidy…she used to be…David's girl."

Jacqueline looked surprised. "You're kidding me, right?"

I halted and gave her the look. "Do I look like I'm kidding?"

"Wait a minute. You're not joking around here? You're serious?"

I nodded. "Dead serious. Look, what I'm asking you to do may seem a little out of the lines here."

She gestured for me to continue.

"Some things have come up, things that are becoming too dangerous for her. Being back in Santa Carla, well, it's hard to explain. She's not…she's not safe."

"Is someone after her?"

_Something like that…_

"Look, she needs protection and-"

"You want her back with David."

"Exactly."

"But, if what you're saying is true, then they split up, didn't they?"

I shrugged. "It's hard to explain, honestly. It's something David doesn't talk about."

"But, why the hell do you want them back together? Besides the whole "protection" thing. You don't just get two people back together because one's in the middle of a crisis. That's just not how it works!" she exclaimed in disbelief.

"Jac, please just help me. She's in danger and-"

Jacqueline narrowed her eyes. "You're not doing this for her. Don't lie to me."

The vibe coming off of her was electrified by pure annoyance. She was obviously seeing through the _partial_ lie. Smart girl.

"You're doing this for your sister, for Star!" She scrunched her nose in disdain.

I was silent.

Her fists clenched. "How did I not guess this before? That's really selfish of you, Scout. Have you ever considered the fact that maybe he's happy with your sister? And maybe Cassidy's happy with whoever she has?"

"But Star's not happy, Jacqueline and you know it. He uses her for a trophy."

She snorted. "But it's not your place to call the shots. They split up and they're leading two different lives. It is _not_ your job _or mine_ to meddle in their affairs. If they should be together, then they'll find out on their own."

"That's total fairytale bullshit."

"Is it? I think its common sense and a fair amount of goddamn respect. I won't help you with this one, Scout. The last time already got me in trouble with David."

She sped up, leaving me behind to walk in the creeping shadows.

"That last time wasn't my fault! It wasn't my mistake that you got caught!" I shouted angrily after her.

She turned the corner leading to the pier and disappeared. Loads of things were running through my brain and before I knew it, I had come to a complete stop. The frustration from the previous conversation had left a building desperation that was burrowing deep inside my nerves.

Star wasn't meant for this life. She couldn't be a vampire anymore than Madonna could be normal. She was miserable and that desolation was rubbing off on everyone else.

Cassidy should have been in Star's place. Cassidy should be the one dealing with David, not my sister who had no idea in the slightest how to tame the raging monster inside of my brother.

_Brother_ I though bitterly.

Maybe he could register as that in my mind if he treated my sister better.

I could feel my teeth gnashing together as I thought about the cruel mentality he forced upon Star. I would make sure she hurt no more.

In a fleeting moment of rage, I slammed my fist into the brick wall, shrieking in surprise as I heard my fingers crack. A few droplets of blood dripped down the sides of my palms and I brought it up to my lips, quickly licking up the crimson drops.

"Crap," the word came out in a muffled whisper.

"_Holly?"_

Marko's voice was quiet in my head. He could feel my despair.

"_I'm okay, Marko. Are you still at the pier?"_

"_No, I'm heading your way. Jacqueline looked upset. What did you say to her?"_

"_Nothing. I guess she had a bad day at work. Is anyone else with you?"_

"_I'm alone."_

I nodded, but remembered he couldn't see me.

"_Good. I need some…time alone with you. I'm not feeling myself today."_

I could practically feel his playful grin.

"_Scout getting to you?"_

On any other occasion I would have laughed, but not today. He could sense my non-amusement. His concern trickled inside my head like running water and a flood of emotions racked my brain. His careful reassurance came in the form of emotional support and I could feel every bit of it.

"_I think she is…"_

I closed my eyes and let a chilling breeze sweep past me. Marko rounded the corner where I stood, thumbs in his pockets and a sloppy smirk on his face.

"Hey, Hol," he smiled.

His smile seemed to take the edge off of things. I embraced him, taking in his scent and sighing heavily, as if letting go of the huge amounts of stress that had been weighing on my shoulders.

"Hey yourself."

He laughed; I could feel the vibrations in his chest. "You up for a ride?"

I hesitated.

"Star's already back home," he answered my unspoken question.

I felt tired then, more exhausted than I had been in a long while.

"Actually…I was thinking of crashing early. I've had a…bad night."

I could feel his mind probing my brain and he tightened his grip around me as he caught sight of the two boys, Seth and Daryl.

"They called you conceited?" he growled.

"Not me, _Scout_," I reminded him.

He raised an eyebrow.

"Two different people," my voice came in a whisper.

"Still," he added, "they insulted you, Holly. You should have let me know when they approached you."

I gave him a weak smile. "You know, it's okay for me to talk to other boys, Marko."

He rolled his eyes. "It's not okay with me," he teased darkly.

"Well, I have no problem making a meal out of them, just not tonight. I'm tired."

"It's only eleven, Holly. Are you feeling alright?"

I nodded weakly. "Yeah, just take me home."

We walked side by side, content in each other's silent company. I kept thinking of Star. Poor Star, how lonely she must be and how it was all my fault. She was tormented because of me, her own sister. Now, I had to make this right.

It was Cassidy's turn to take her place. Star no longer needed to suffer.

But perhaps Cassidy deserved it; deserved the protection and the torture that came with David.

{***}

A casual stroll along the beach, I was told, would help clear my mind. The waterlogged sand between my toes, the ocean spray in my face and the gentle sound of the waves as they coincided with the distant rumble of thunder seemed to be helping more than was expected. Even after a few days of being home and running into _him_, the incident had still stayed fresh in my head. The memory wasn't painful like I thought it would have been, more along the lines of confusing. Did I still feel for him?

No, because I had Sam now. Sam was my boyfriend and nothing could come in-between us, especially an old relationship…if you could really call it that.

The sharp wind rolling off the sea water had left me emotionally sober this entire walk and really had given me time to think things through without my memories getting the best of me.

There were some things people couldn't change, some things are just inevitable; like finding David again. How could I even fool myself into thinking I wouldn't see him?

The only thing I could do was try to avoid him. That "first love" was over and done with; it was time to finally move on. Maybe it was good we ran into each other, that way we could finally let go.

The sun was sinking just below the horizon line, streaking the sky with pale, pink frosting. I marveled at how beautiful it was, realizing just how much I had missed California sunsets. The beach looked stunning as well as the water rolled off my bare feet and back towards the faint moon that rested in the sky.

The night was soon to come and of course I could feel my nervousness creeping upon me. I should be home, safe and with my family. Instead, here I was asking for another horrible moment to run into David again. I was taking a huge risk.

So much for avoiding him.

_Why should I be scared?_

He wouldn't hurt me, would he?

I swallowed, thinking of all the reasons he had to see me die; I knew all about him, all the secrets and maybe out of pure enjoyable pleasure. He was a vampire after all.

"No, he wouldn't," I whispered to the ocean.

At least, if I stayed out of his way I could avoid having to get the answer to that question.

The wind was pulling my hair in every direction and, to my great annoyance, blocking my vision. My hands instinctively went to my face to clear my eyes, but somebody beat me to it.

Small, pale hands tucked my blonde curls behind an ear and I stood, frozen to the spot. Intelligent, hazel flecked eyes starred back at me behind a mane of thick black hair. Her features were different than the last moments I had seen her three years ago.

She stood in front of me, her hand still placed above my right ear. I couldn't help my heart as it sped forward like a horse and a quick, fleeting smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

She did not allow it to grace her features.

"Holly," I greeted her with a small voice.

Her hand slowly dropped down to her side as the wind drifted through her caramel streaked locks. She looked almost….frightening, standing there as silent as a corpse left to live out a lonely existence. The shadows of the night clouded her face and left me to wonder if she was truly a monster. She could have been at that moment; her actions were enough to buy a chance of being in _Dracula._

"I'm sorry I missed you the first day," her voice was quiet, chilling.

I was at loss for words.

"I've been meaning to make contact with you."

"I-"

Her finger was put to my parting lips, shushing me.

"Let me finish, Cassidy. Don't you know it's rude to interrupt?"

My bones seemed to go cold. Something about this new Holly was beyond the x-factor. She wasn't just creepy, she was powerful.

She was finally a vampire.

"You've come back for him haven't you? For David?" her stoic eyes took on a lighter, more hopeful tone.

I shook my head. "No."

"No? No…" she whispered to herself, taking a finger from my lips and turning towards the ocean.

"No, Holly-"

"It's Scout now," her tone was solid, heavy.

"Okay…_Scout_, I came…I came back for my brother's wedding. Not David."

She shuffled her boot in the sand. "So you feel nothing for him?"

"Why are you here?" my temper was getting the better of me.

She shrugged, the first normal thing she had done. "It's sad, really. Such a waste."

My eyes narrowed. "Is this really any of your concern?"

"Yes."

"How?" I demanded.

How was _any_ of this to do with her?

"That's my business really."

"Oh, but you want into mine?"

"Of course."

I started walking away, stomping through the sand in a blind rage. "Just leave me alone. I didn't come back for David and I certainly didn't come back to get harassed by you!"

"You'll be back," I heard her whisper.

I should have gone back the way I came; it would have been a quicker way home, but escaping from Holly's presence meant going towards the boardwalk. No one made eye contact as I slipped by pedestrians in the crowd. The ambiance of the carnival wasn't happy like before; it was frozen. Perhaps it was because of me; the confusion that was radiating through my nerves. Perhaps it was intuition, the sinking feeling I adopted in the pit of my stomach.

Or maybe it was the thing I saw the moment I decided to look up.

Of course, fate would have it that I saw them so soon. _Again._

They were parked outside the bumper car railings, watching people watch them. Their mannerisms hadn't changed, they were still just as in control has they had been when I was around. People respected them, feared them more and they played the part of scary biker gang.

But I knew they were more.

The bartender from the other night, Jacqueline I think, was sitting on the back of Paul's bike, whispering things in his ear and playing with his hair. A grin was shot in her direction as he started up his bike and let out a scream of excitement. The others did the same.

I don't know how Holly had gotten back so fast, but there she was, mounting Marko's bike with such practiced fashion it was hard to believe she had only ridden for a few years.

I waited, watching as they all started their bikes and a sinking feeling scraped at my heart.

_Do I miss that?_

I couldn't answer that question. I didn't know how. They all seemed fine, normal, carrying on like nothing had ever happened, but I guess that's just how vampires lived.

My loneliness was invaded as a numb feeling shot through my body.

I certainly wasn't expecting _her._

A striking brunette with long, pale arms, big brown eyes and a billowy gypsy skirt approached the six on the motorcycles. At first, and I found myself hoping, that she would go to Dwayne's empty bike and ride with the stoic brunette. It was a direct slap in the face when she mounted David's bike and I know it shouldn't have been. He wasn't mine anymore.

But it still stung all the same.

I looked down, knowing that if I starred any longer I would make myself think things I shouldn't. What was I doing? That was a life that didn't belong to me anymore. I had Sam, didn't I?

When I quickly shot another glance in their direction, he was looking right at me. I had to hold back the spring of tears that threatened to fall.

He leaned back, whispering something to the girl without breaking eye contact and gave me a taunting glare.

It said to me, _"you're old news."_

They took off then, one by one, howling with adrenaline. David was the last to leave, giving me one last glance that the girl on his bike didn't miss. As they turned the corner she gave me a look that mirrored my own confusion.


	5. Chapter 5 Sensations and falsehoods

_So this chapter has two parts, this one and another one that I should be putting out sometime this weekend. I was going to combine them but that would have ended up too long and this was 15 pages already…._

_The next one will have David and Cassidy together so I apologize for the lack of that in this chapter. However, this holds some very important information that I needed to put out there before anything else went down. I hope you don't get too bored and enjoy!_

_Also, I've neglected to thank everyone that has reviewed. An especially big thank you to Jo, Anna, and Etta. Seriously, you guys make my day every time you review! But this thank you goes out to *everyone*! I love you all and am so delighted that you're enjoying my story :D  
_

_Sunny_

_{***}_

"Are you sure he didn't say another night? I mean, we could've have been wrong."

"Stop trying to make excuses, Holly. He said tonight." David's tone was laced with aggravation and at any other time I might have backed off. Not tonight.

"Well, technically he didn't _say_ Tuesday, he _thought_ it, you know? His message could have gotten scrambled!"

I tried frantically to skip closer to David, who was currently in the front of our "little group" to protest heading to Max's place for the annual once a month update. David, as I came to later discover, visited Max every two weeks, for obvious reasons of being the overseer of our clan.

"Leave it, Holly. We're going."

"But-" I reached out to grab his arm, to try and put some sense into him, but I was stopped by a gentle yet stern hand on my shoulder. I looked back to meet Dwayne's warning stare and shut my mouth.

"_Don't push it."_

His forewarning advice pushed through my thoughts and into my brain. I nodded, embarrassed and fell back beside Paul. The scruffy blonde lightly punched my arm and gave me a lopsided grin.

"_Don't worry 'bout it, girl. We get it."_

I nodded, my cheeks burning and focused on my yellow shoes as they dragged across the pavement. The pristine neighborhood we were walking through, oddly enough, awakened an aching sense of nostalgia inside the pit of my stomach. Surprised, I found the feeling to be homesickness.

I used to live in a neighborhood like this; clean sidewalks, white houses, big trees. One house in particular made my stomach clench. Beautiful gingerbread trim laced the tips of the gutter lines, white wood paneled walls supported the large structure, red brick lined the roof, round topped windows decorated the sides, and an intricate array of forget-me-nots, Azaleas, Indian Paintbrushes, and sunflowers thrived in the colorful garden. It was the ideal American house, yet every time I passed it, I got an incredibly uncomfortable feeling. Why? I had yet to discover.

It seemed as if all three boys had sensed my unease. Both Paul and Dwayne turned to look at me.

"Something wrong, Holly?" David questioned lightly, as if forgetting my persistence against going to Max's household. He kept straight ahead, his eyes trained on the suburban neighborhood before him, but he wasn't stupid enough to dismiss my discomfort. Clan members were supposed to regard each other's reactions, especially a female's. Ever heard of women's intuition?

"Yeah, fine. It's just that house," I replied quietly, nodding towards the white threshold.

They all stopped walking to stare discriminately at the area. The sounds of the downtown district were echoing through the empty streets, giving a background to the silent sidewalks. We all watched for movement inside, anything to give us a clue of who lived there. After awhile, a single lamp flickered on, illuminating a front window. The white lace curtain veiled the interior of the house, but it did little to mask the silhouette that stood on the other side. All I could see was a slender female figure with a distinct, almost alarming, head of black hair. The shadow stood there a moment longer, peering at us through the foggy lookout until she suddenly turned out the lamp and the house was once again shrouded in darkness.

"Anything seem strange about that to you guys?" Paul asked cautiously, nearly whispering.

The only thing I could offer as a response was a slow shake of my head, listening as the jingle of my loop earrings faded into the background noises.

"This isn't a good sign. We've been seen by someone," David growled quietly, "we should have taken our bikes."

"It would have been too loud. We _should_ have taken the back roads like we always do," Dwayne spoke up, eyes still trained on the elegant white house.

"But Max wanted us to scout the area for hunters remember?" Paul argued with a shake of his head. Just at the slight mention of the word, every one of us tensed up as if read for a fight.

"Didn't he say he spotted one near the border of Scott's Valley?" I asked timidly, looking around the sidewalk anxiously. All this talk of hunters was making me jittery.

"A team. Two or three of them, he couldn't be sure," David answered stoically, "which is why we're walking on the main road."

"Either way, I have an odd feeling about that house."

I wish my voice hadn't shaken as much as it did; I didn't want to seem weak in front of my brothers.

David only nodded in agreement, scowling darkly at the gingerbread trimmed quarters before walking at a slow pace again, every few steps stealing a quick glance back at the home.

"I think you're right, Holly. I don't like that house either."

{***}

Only one thought, at that point, now pulsed through my mind. _Star._ Max wasn't aware that my sister was a vampire, really of the fact that David had changed her without asking permission first. My biggest fear was that Max would make us get rid of her.

I couldn't let my sister die, especially not by my hands or my brothers. I couldn't live with myself.

Sighing, I let myself take the position in the very back of the group, really to ease everyone's uneasiness. It was odd not having Marko right beside me and so I walked alone.

He was out finishing up some last minute hunting before he joined us at the park benches near Max's place.

When we reached the four park benches, I was tempted to beg David again, but I could tell from the way he slowly paced the sidewalk that now wasn't exactly a good time. I assumed he was still trying to come up with an explanation as well for Star's presence within the clan and at the same time, figure out the mystery to that gingerbread house, as I now thought of it.

I came to the conclusion that there wasn't any way we could avoid this, not tonight at least. Sighing heavily, I plopped down on one of the wooden benches and absentmindedly scratched at the chipped yellow paint with my fingernails, which looked longer than the last time I had checked them.

"You can blame it on me, you know."

All the boys looked up from their thoughts and stared at me. I wouldn't meet their eyes, instead averted my attention to a scuff mark on my Doc Martens.

_And here we go…._

"Star….you can blame it on me. Just say I changed her while you guys had gone hunting. Make the excuse that I was lonely or something."

No one said a thing and the only noises I could hear were the sound of crickets in the surrounding hedges. I looked up then and caught all three of their similar gazes.

They each held uncertainty, almost slight disbelief that made me look down at my shoes again.

"Just an idea," I mumbled.

Paul grinned from his position leaning up against the lamppost. "Well, I don't know about brains, but you sure have some-"

"Paul."

David's growl silenced the blonde, but he still continued to grin at me. Even if the boys were vampires, crude, unforgiving, murderous vampires, they (or at least David and Dwayne) were still…gentlemen, I guess would be the right word, at least towards other female vamps.

Dwayne rolled his eyes and turned away to check the empty streets for any unwanted onlookers. David, however, searched my face cautiously, his eyes guarded and narrowed. I blushed and avoided his cold, blue gaze, leaning down instead to tie my shoelace that had come undone. I couldn't tell you what it was about his eyes that scared the living daylights out of me and seemingly every other _smart_ woman out there. The feral, fox-like qualities were like tiny needles that would pinch and stab at my nerves every time I was unlucky enough to capture that stare.

"That's a risky suggestion, Holly," he said, with a gentle tone that surprised me. My head shot up to meet his eyes, stunned at the calmness of the cold blue that settled there like waves of the ocean.

"But a good idea right?"

He lit a cigarette, his hands revealing his secret unease at the thought of telling Max about Star. This was the first time I had ever seen David unsure of anything other than…_her._

"Maybe, maybe not."

_Gotcha_…

"So why not just use it?"

"Because this one's on me, Holly."

This was also another first for me. I'd never seen David admit something was his fault before, mostly because David _never_ made mistakes. That was particularly the reason why he was in charge here and not Marko or Dwayne or especially Paul.

"But, it'd be so much easier. I'm the youngest besides Star, naturally and I wouldn't get as much…punishment," I argued, standing up to put emphasis on my case. I blushed again, realizing just how short I was compared to David. I only came up to his chest.

This really wasn't helping my argument.

He smirked at my attempt to look strong, acknowledging that he understood my point. "It would make no sense, Holly. Trust me, Max doesn't give leniency to adolescents."

"Sure it would it make a difference! Why not just give it a try? I'd do anything for you guys, this is no different."

Now, _that_ got everyone's attention.

Paul smiled and drummed his fingers on the tops of his thighs, Dwayne raised an eyebrow and shook his head and David smirked again.

"Good to know where your loyalties lie."

I smiled to myself as I realized my next question could quite possibly make or break me.

"And you guys would do the same for me, right?"

This time around their stares weren't quite so benevolent as they were wary. Dwayne turned around fully to face me, he expression twisted up in a distrustful look.

"What exactly do you want?" he caught on immediately.

I tried not to do a victory cheer as I summoned the courage to speak. It was time to lay on the lies, and might I add unfortunately, really corny lies, too. But really I didn't have much time to come up with them. It was now or never.

"There's, uh, there's someone that I'm supposed to meet tomorrow at Night and Day's."

"I don't like where this is heading," Dwayne growled to himself.

"What's wrong with her?" Paul voiced his confusion, scuffing his shoes on the pavement.

"Nothing. Nothing's _wrong_ with her, it's just that…her boyfriend is really weird. He's always looking at me strange and just the other day he…"

"He?"

"He said some things to me that were completely out of line. Like, disgusting, out of line."

They all stirred angrily. I was their sister, they had a right to feel protective.

"I was kinda hoping you guys could go and scare him off."

"And you couldn't have Marko do this?" Dwayne asked.

"I don't want to kill the guy, just get him to leave me alone. Besides, someone would definitely notice if this guy went missing. He's pretty popular up at the Marina. He does sailboat races and what not."

Paul snorted and grinned. "You're right, Marko would probably beat the guy senseless just for being a total loser, not to mention moving in on his girl."

"And…I also need," I coughed, laying on the fake embarrassment, "last time I tried to get in, they told me I was too young. I kinda need at least one of you to go in _with_ me. So…could you guys?"

Paul couldn't help but snort in amusement and Dwayne's lips twitched with a small smile.

Before long, they each nodded their heads. I silently thanked my ingenious arrangement and figured I would find something for Dwayne and Paul to do so they had an excuse not to go. It had to be David, only David.

_This has to work out….it was the only way to save my sister._

{***}

_The necklace! Where the hell was the necklace! _

The room already looked like a tornado had swept through it. Dad was going to be pissed.

Yanking all the shirts and underwear out of my drawer, I frantically searched through the remaining clothing articles, making small noises of distress not unlike a wounded animal.

_Where was it?_

The drawers closed with a loud _slam_ and the lamp shade atop the wooden surface shook violently. I gripped my hair, tightly winding it through my fingers and nearly started screaming in frustration.

"Come on! Where are you?" a tight whisper crawled from my throat.

Thunder clapped outside, startling me. My fingers jammed between the two drawers and I yelped in pain, sucking on the digits carefully to ease the throbbing.

"Crap."

I tiptoed to the window, taking a peak at the black storm clouds brewing over the cornfields. Another rumble of thunder shook the entire house and rattled the window. It flew open with a _pop_! and a gust of wind blew dried leaves through my room.

"Holy crap, now _that's_ a storm." I went to pull the window closed to keep the debris from the storm coming inside when I noticed the lock on my window. It was completely broken.

"What the…?"

It rattled and swung loosely from the handle as if it had been physically forced to open.

_But…who would have broken it? I'm the only one who's been in here…_

"And where the hell is my necklace?"

"Looking for something?"

I shrieked and spun around, placing a hand on my heart when I saw Honor standing in the doorway. She causally leaned up against the wall as if nothing was wrong.

"Jesus Christ, you scared me," I gasped, pulling the window shut and hoping it would remain that way.

"Sorry, paranoid much?"

"No, just a bit frustrated. I can't find my necklace," I began, searching through my closet.

"What's it look like?" she asked, starting to sort through my Levis that were laid out on my bed.

"It's…" I swallowed loudly, "it's a silver teardrop….on a leather strap."

I could see the memory replay before my eyes as if it were only yesterday. The night I got that necklace was the night everything went in motion and I got into the heap of trouble that could have cost me my life.

"I've never seen it before. Is it new?"

I paused. "Relatively. I don't wear it much."

"What do you need it for if you don't mind me asking?" She tossed a pair of holey jeans behind her after checking its pockets for jewelry.

"I, uh," I cleared my throat, "I'm getting rid of it."

"Why?" she continued to look through the jeans, but I could tell she was curious.

"I just...aha!"

She looked up expectantly. "Did you find it?"

I waved the jewelry box in her face, smiling in relief. "Yeah, now I can-"

She noticed my abrupt halt in speech. "What?"

The color drained from my face, leaving me as white as a ghost. "How is that possible?" I whispered.

She set down a pair of old Levis and faced me. "What's wrong, Cassidy?"

"It's..." I held out the box to her, "it's empty."

{***}

There was blood. _Lots of it._

With Marko's arrival brought eerily unsettling news. Two corpses, savagely torn to pieces, were lying in wait to be picked on by gulls down at Seabright Beach. Marko happened to stumble upon them when he picked up an unfamiliar scent lingering underneath the pier.

These bodies were not our doing; the scent alone could tell you that.

"Looks like they really took it hard," Dwayne growled, kicking a few stray Pepsi cans out of his way.

"You're tellin' me," Marko answered grimly.

I couldn't help but want to cry.

A young woman, in her mid thirties, was splayed across the sands, belly up or at least what was left of it. Her innards were thrown around her like party favors and her legs were bent and twisted in such a way that made even David's expression falter for a moment.

A young child, maybe about five or six and presumably her son, lay face down in the sand, his neck broken and chunks of flesh torn from his back. I wanted to run away then, away from this horrible mess.

Even vampires have some form of remorse. This was a child; we don't kill children.

"Ugh, poor kid," Paul sympathized, leaning down to point at a few bitten off fingertips lying scattered around the bodies.

I shuddered and wiped my face with my palms.

"Who did this?" my voice came out hoarse.

They all shook their heads, scrunching their noses up at the smell of rotting corpses. At least we had enough respect to get rid of the bodies.

"Don't know yet, but there's gotta be something around here that can tell us," Paul grimaced.

Dwayne stood up from his crouch in the sand and held a chunk of copper brown hair within his fist. David walked forward and took the brown locks from his grasp, bringing them up to his nose and taking in the scent.

"Where did you find that?" Paul asked, eyes still trained on the kid.

"In between the woman's fingers. Looks like she went down with a fight."

We all grunted our approval.

"This wasn't a mortal for sure," David informed us, "definitely a vampire."

"But, we haven't picked up on anything usual lately," Marko said, confused.

David passed the lock of hair around to each of us. From the looks on the boys' faces, the scent wasn't entirely unpleasant. Marko took a whiff and handed it to me.

"Male or female?" I asked before bring it to my nose.

"Female."

A large breath swooped up my nose, carrying with it the stale scent of the hair.

_Oh no…_

I could tell my expression must have been terrified, for all three boys gave me curious looks.

"Holly?" Marko questioned, reaching a hand out to my shoulder.

I stood frozen on the spot, hands shaking, pupils dilated. David was the only one who seemed to make the connection.

"Is the scent familiar?"

We locked eyes and for a moment I thought I had somehow lost my voice.

"Yes," I shook my head fearfully.

"Who does it belong to?" Dwayne's question, for some reason, made me pause. I could tell them, perhaps they wouldn't think I was crazy, but on the other hand…maybe I was.

"I…this smell, strawberries, I've smelled it here before."

"Go on."

"And in my dreams."

Dwayne looked incredulously at me. "You're kidding me, right?"

"Hey, man, let her speak," Marko barked.

They exchanged frustrated glares before I interrupted them.

"That dream I told you all about…the entity with the gray hood. She smelled like strawberries, or at least _something_ in the dream did."

David eyes were like blue fire, urging me to continue.

"And I smelled it again the other day."

Heated sparks flew off the boys as the pieces were coming together.

"When I picked up Jacqueline at Dawson's, I waited in the alley way. It was there, I could clearly make out the scent and I think it was trying to talk to me."

"This isn't some syfy horror movie, Holly, this is real life," Dwayne's frustration was rapidly increasing. I couldn't blame him; we were all appalled at the apparent torture this five year old boy had endured.

"And in real life, we're vampires," I couldn't help but say.

"It whispered my name a few times, knocked over a trash can, but I never saw it directly."

"Clarify," David ordered.

"Shadows, that was all I picked up."

Silence followed and the soothing sound of the waves as they kissed the sands did nothing to help ease the building anxiety. We all thought for a moment, each of us lost in our heads.

"You're special, Holly, in ways most vampires would envy," David began. His words made me shift positions; his voice was chilling.

"I want you to read its vibes."

This time, no one, not even Dwayne, said a word. They all knew of my "special power" I had even before I became a vampire. I tried not to use it much or else it would overwhelm me. But here, _now_, my family needed me and I would have to do it for them; for that little boy.

My voice was tiny. "Okay."

Slightly embarrassed, I closed my eyes, focusing on the feelings I got from the lock of hair. It seemed as if I were in a different world.

_Green eyes_

_Female_

_Dominant _

The vibes were officially beginning to speak. I started to catch broken sentences.

"_distract her from…"_

"_Places…not safe…"_

"_kill her!"_

"_but you said…I tried to stop…"_

That single voice was getting louder and louder, until it stopped for a moment and I began picking up on distorted images.

_High cheekbones_

_Yellow t-shirt_

_Bloody hands_

_Broken fingernails_

And suddenly a new picture developed.

_Cropped hair_

_Blue eyes_

_Dirty jeans_

_Strong arms_

_Dangerous! Dangerous! Dangerous!_

"There's another one," I spoke before delving back into the vibes.

The boys stirred, but didn't interrupt me.

"_this will work…"_

"_new places…fresh start…"_

"_eliminate."_

"_go for….weaker ones first…"_

The brutal image of the woman and the boy was fresh and I tried to move onto the next one.

And there they were, although quite blurry, two figures standing together in dominant stances. Vampires for sure. It was a chilling sight.

_Murder_

"Can you pick up on any names?" David dared to ask.

I tried hard to dig up some sort of identification, but all I caught were first letters.

"C and…and S."

And suddenly, there was nothing. Opening my eyes to look around, I was greeted once again by the brutality of the murder before me.

"What did you pick up on?"

I handed the locks back to David again, eager to get them away from my body.

"A male and a female, both vampires. I saw bits and pieces of their face. The girl, her name started with an S, she had green eyes and high cheekbones. The male, cropped hair, blue eyes, dirty jeans. I think the girl was wearing a yellow t-shirt when they killed these two," I motioned to the mother and her son.

"They were talking about something. I heard 'kill her' and 'go for the weaker ones'. Whatever that means, it doesn't sound too good."

"So it's safe to say, boys, these two rogues aren't here with good intensions."

David's words instilled a building anger in us all. This was our territory, our home and if these two thought they could come in and kill _our_ people and make a mess of everything we've worked hard to protect, then they had another thing coming.

"First thing's first, split up and search the borderlines. Paul, you go down to Scott's Valley, but be careful of the hunters. I don't want to have to clean up any more bodies tonight. Dwayne, you check Westlake Park and anywhere around it. Marko, you and I will go to Wilder Ranch State Park. There's more to cover there."

_And this was why David was in charge._

"Holly, get rid of the bodies. The last thing we need is for these two to go public."

I nodded, a certain pride swelling up in my chest. We were going to protect our home, no matter what the cost.

"What about Max?" I questioned.

We all paused. Max was our sire, our father and he had to know. We respected him and it was only fair.

"I'll deal with Max, you don't worry about it. Just figure _this_ out," and he was off, Marko following, heading North-west for Wilder Ranch.

"_Be careful, Marko."_

"_And you."_

{***}

_**1 hour: postmortem **_

"_911, what's your emergency?"_

"_She-she killed them!"_

"_Ma'am who killed them?"_

"_The girl! She burned them! She threw them in a fire! You've gotta help!"_

"_Are you hurt?"_

"_No! No! Listen to me! Those poor people are _burning_!"_

"_Ma'am, ma'am, I need you to calm down and tell me where you are."_

"_No, I can't."_

"_Okay, ma'am, where did you see the murder?"_

"_Seabright Beach. I…I saw it from my apartment."_

"_Okay, ma'am, I'm sending a unit down there now."_

"_Please, hurry!"_

{***}

"Can you describe them for me, honey?"

The poor thing was shaking like she had been trapped in a freezer, her eyes were as wide as baseballs and I could hear her teeth chattering. She was shaken up pretty bad.

"N-no, they were too far away. Besides, she…" the girl paused, wincing, "she burned them."

"In the fire?" I asked, looking behind my shoulder to eye the blackened crisp of remains from the flames.

"Yeah. She just…threw them in like she was a Greek god or something."

"What do you mean?" I wrote down her descriptions on my notepad, raising an eyebrow curiously at the last sentence.

"I mean, she just picked them up like they weighed nothing at all. The biggest one must have been at least a hundred and thirty pounds!" The young woman was beginning to become frantic. I put a calming hand on her shoulder.

"And you didn't catch a glimpse of the killer? Female you said?"

"Actually, yes, ma'am I did."

I stopped writing. "So you got a good look at her?" I asked hopefully.

"No, just….just what she was wearing."

I had to stop myself from smiling. "Can you describe it for me?"

"Yeah, she, uh, she was wearing some sort of jacket, leather I think."

"What color?"

"Black."

She paused to take a shaky breath.

"I _think _she had black hair, but…it was so dark I couldn't really tell."

I nodded encouragingly. "Go on."

Her eyes closed for a moment. "Yellow shoes."

"I'm sorry, you said _yellow_ shoes?"

"Yeah, I don't know what kind, just…yellow."

I scribbled it down anxiously before pulling out a new page and writing down my name and work number.

"My name's Detective Marnie Dakota. Here's my work number and the number to my partners. If you need anything, please call me," I urged her.

She nodded fiercely.

"If you'll go with Agent Hernandez, he's going to ask you a few more questions then he'll take you back to your apartment."

"Okay," she said in a small voice.

Hernandez put an arm around her waist, leading her towards the pier. He pulled out a few sheets of paper for her to fill out and handed them to her.

"Tough break for the girl."

I grunted in response to my partner's comment.

"Did you see he face, Drew? Terrified."

"That I did. She definitely wasn't lying. We found what was left of the bodies."

I looked up, raising an eyebrow.

"Everything's gone."

"No fingerprints? No teeth?"

"None."

"Damn." Could this week get any worse?

"I know, but hopefully what that girl told us can help. What was her name again?"

I searched the sheet of notebook paper for her name.

"Jacqueline Russell."

{***}

_Shoot me a review if you enjoyed it!_

_Sunny_


	6. Chapter 6 Unexpected choises

_Alright guys, this is the second portion of chapter 5 that I told you about. I hope this doesn't seem rushed because I wrote it in two days. Record time for me! This chapter is all in Cassidy's POV which is something I'm going to be doing more often now. The next chapter will be an interesting one, so be on the lookout for it!_

_Shout out to Anna and ArchadianRose and everyone else who has reviewed. You guys make it worth while!_

_And onto David and Cassidy :D_

_Sunny_

_{***}_

Honor wasn't happy with me for taking her car, but she would have to get over that little fact and move on. There were more important things to deal with at the moment, such as my necklace. Discovering it missing in action wasn't the only surprise this week. The phone call I received the night after was even more strange and…slightly creepy.

_The shrill ring from the telephone cried out, breaking the calming silence inside the house. The floorboards creaked as I practically sprinted down the stairs. When I reached the wall phone, I detached the receiver and brought the white plastic to my ear._

"_Hello?"_

"_Hello, may I speak to Cassidy Reeves," a far away voice answered._

"_Speaking."_

"_Yes, hello, Ms. Reeves, I'm glad I've reached you. How are you today?"_

_I rolled my eyes, thinking it was a telemarketer. "Look, I'm sorry, but I'm not interested in whatever you're selling."_

"_No, I think you've misunderstood me, Miss, I'm calling about your necklace."_

_I froze just as I was about to hang up the receiver. "Excuse me?"_

"_Your silver necklace. We have it in our possession."_

"_I'm sorry, who exactly are you again?"_

"_I'm terribly sorry! I'm Morris Yellan, manager of the bar Night and Day's."_

_I paused. "I don't understand. I haven't been in your bar since I've arrived in town."_

"_Strange because we have it."_

"_Wait, how did you even know it was mine?" This was getting too freaky._

"_If you want to come pick it up, Miss, we'll be open until three in the morning. Have a nice night."_

"_Wait!" the click of the receiver silenced my plea. _

_What the hell?_

Now, the trees were blurring as I sped past the state park, on my way towards Night and Day's to retrieve my necklace. I had no idea how the hell it got there, but I had a feeling my broken window lock had something to with it. Since when was it okay to break into someone's house and steal their personal belongings? And who drops it off at some bar for me to find it? A weirdo, that's who.

The country road was empty, as expected, and dust was rolling off the edges in puffy brown clouds. Honor was going to kill me for getting her BMW dirty. I would have to bring it by a car wash after this whole run around was over. My fingers searched for the power button on the radio. I needed a distraction, something to cut through the silence. I didn't like driving this road alone at night.

"_Can you break away from your alibis, can you make a play, will you meet me in the dark?"_

"Oh hell yeah, Billy Squier," I smiled, turning _In the Dark_ up louder until the noises of the dusty dirt road were no longer audible.

Singing along with the song made me realize something. This was the prime of my lifetime and what was I doing? Worrying about my past and not focusing on my future, on the things that really mattered.

"Snap out of it, Cass, _snap out of it."_

After about an hour of getting lost trying to find the damn place, I finally pulled into the crowded parking lot. I slid the BMW into a vacant spot near the back, unfortunately, and popped down the sun visor, looking at myself in the mirror. I didn't know what kind of bar this was, but I'm pretty sure I wasn't "dressed for the occasion". Stone washed jeans, vans, and a pink _Cherry Coke_ t-shirt wasn't something you usually wore to a place like this.

"Well, here goes nothing."

I looked both ways before crossing the tiny road in front of Night and Day's so I wouldn't get my ass plowed over by some drunk idiot who wasn't paying attention. I couldn't help but gulp as I realized that the BMW was the only…nice car in the lot. Motorcycles and muddy pickup trucks seemed to be the reoccurring theme here.

_Just my luck._

My vans kicked up dirt from the gravel road and I coughed heavily, covering my face with my arm while pulling open the door. The bar was crowded with rough looking men and women well over the ages of thirty. All of them were clad in biker get up and the ZZ Top songs blasting in the background did little to mask that this was definitely a biker bar.

Great.

I received the rudest looks from people that I chose to ignore. I was afraid if I looked them in the eye, I would probably get the crap beat out of me. I walked as quickly as I could towards the bar, apologizing to anyone I bumped into. Even the waitresses were giving me scrutinizing looks. I tried to remain calm as I stuffed my hands in my pockets and rocked back and forth on my heals, waiting for the bartender to notice my presence. I took the extra time on my hands to figure out exactly where all my exits were…just in case. Unfortunately, rough and tough guys were blocking every single one, guarding it like highly trained German Shepherds. In fact, that's what they reminded me of; dogs. Lips curled, sharp teeth, yellow eyes…doglike, yes?

"Can I help you with something?" a gravelly voice questioned.

I tried to smile, but it fell off my face immediately when I saw the bartender. Scary looking guy he was, tattoos, leather jacket, long black hair, and scarred face.

I swallowed, twisting a strand of my hair in between my fingers nervously. "Yeah, I got a call from your manager-"

"A necklace?" he questioned roughly.

I could feel myself shrinking in size. "Yes."

"Cherry!" he yelled behind him. I jumped, bumping into an older woman behind me.

"Watch it, kid!" she snarled, roughly pushing me into the bar.

"Sorry!" I apologized desperately while she whisked away, scoffing loudly.

"Cherry!" the bartender called again and this time I was prepared.

A young, skinny blonde appeared beside him clad in a dangerously tight black tank and Bermuda shorts. Her heels were sharp enough to kill a man, I swear.

"Whatcha need, baby?" she asked, smacking her gum loudly. I grimaced.

"This chick needs her necklace. The one Morris found earlier."

Cherry nodded, stretching her candy red lips in a wide smile. She set down her drink platter, sliding a beer towards me, and disappeared behind a large wooden door in the back. I raised an eyebrow at the beer.

"Uh..?"

"It's on the house. You look like you could use it," he said, eyeing my attire with a disapproving stare.

"Thanks?" I took a few large swigs of the beer before setting it down, remembering that I had to drive home. But oh, it was so tempting to drink some more!

"_Maybe just a little."_

I was already half way through it when the waitress came back out, holding my necklace between her jungle red fingernails. She laughed at something another waitress whispered in her ear and I swear if I thought Fran Drescher's voice was annoying, this girl topped it double time.

"Here's your necklace, baby," she drawled, dropping it into my outstretched hand. My lip curled as our fingers met.

"Thanks. Hey, can I ask you a question?"

She leaned up against the bar. "Anything, doll."

I coughed, embarrassed. "How did you guys know to call me?"

She laughed. "Cause this is your necklace, silly."

I scowled. "No, I mean, how did you know it was mine? And how did you get it exactly?"

Her eyes went blank and her voice monotone. "Well, I'm not really sure. Morris didn't really explain it or anything."

I wanted to punch her in the goddamn face. "Thanks for the _help_."

"No problem!" she went back to her normal self, marching back into the room and swaying her hips so much I thought she might tumble over.

I looked down at the necklace in my hand, my features softening. It really was a beautiful piece of jewelry. He knew what he was doing when he-

"Shut up!" I growled, smacking myself in the face.

Some people gave me odd looks and I blushed upon realizing that I was talking to myself. This time I scowled at the necklace, wanting to rip it to shreds. It may have been pretty, but it was nothing but a terrible reminder of something I wanted nothing to do with anymore; a past life that I had no need for.

"I'm sorry, but you've got to go," I whispered, closing my eyes. My fist clenched around the necklace and I fought back a wave of powerful emotions.

"_Don't do this to yourself."_

A coldness spread throughout my veins, an icy chill, and at that moment, I knew someone was watching me. Of course, there were loads of people in the bar that it could have been, so really I had no need to worry. I kept standing there, eyes closed, tuning out everything but the powerful hold the necklace had on me. When I got in the car, I would throw it out the window and keep driving…no matter what. It was time to move on for good.

"Maybe you'd better scat, kid. There's some pretty nasty characters that'd like to get a hold of you, if you know what I mean," the bartender broke my silent reverie.

I smiled slightly at his warning. "Thanks. For, uh, for the beer." He nodded, turning away from me to help another customer.

I didn't know about anyone else, but I was deadbeat and slightly tipsy from the alcohol….only _slightly_. I decided to leave before I picked the bottle back up and downed what was left of it. Stuffing the necklace in my pocket, I walked away from the bar, keeping a straight face as quite a few people watched me leave. And there it was again; the icy sensation that let me know someone was indeed watching me this time. I stopped short, quickly turning my head around to find whoever it was. But, to my great surprise, there was no one watching me this time around. Confusion was bubbling up in my chest as I ran my fingers through my curls. There were so many people here though; it _was_ possible for me not to see them. This fact made me extremely uneasy. I had to walk all the way towards the back of the parking lot just to get to the car, let alone drive back to the house in the dark. What if this creep followed me?

I spun around in a 360 turn and headed back towards the bar. No way was I going to risk my life tonight. I was done with that shit a long time ago. The bartender noticed me walking back and raised an eyebrow, abandoning his latest costumer.

"You again?"

"Do you have a phone I could use?"

He nodded and pointed towards the right corner of the establishment. "Someone's using it now, so you'll have to wait."

I frowned and nodded, sitting down on a red padded bar stool. He eyed me cautiously before passing me another beer.

"I don't-"

"Just take the drink."

I snapped my mouth shut and, against my Jiminy Cricket, took a few large gulps. This was stupid, I know it was, but…but nothing this was stupid.

"Why are you here, I mean besides the necklace?"

I leaned my head on my fist and sighed. "Would it be stupid to say I don't wanna go outside alone?"

His face became serious. "No, you're smart. I've seen too many girls leave here and never come back." At the same time he said this, his burnt brown eyes shifted to something behind me and he scowled viciously. The icy sensation came back, although this time is was almost overwhelming.

Suddenly, a cold breath tickled my ear. "He's right, Cassidy, you're smart not to leave."

I felt acid crawl up my throat and a wave of nausea swept over me. My hands started shaking violently, partly from the beer that I managed to almost finish off and partly because of the voice that had spoken. Must we meet up at the most unfortunate of times?

When I shot a glance in his direction he was staring off into the crowd, an unlit cigarette behind his ear and a mixture of emotions on his face. His lips were slightly elevated in a smirk of amusement, almost as if he thought this was some big game, but I could tell something was off.

"Thanks, I guess."

He made eye contact and I could tell what was wrong now. He was angry, very, _very_ angry; his eyes were ablaze with icy blue fury and that smirk may have seemed amused, but he was enraged by something, I didn't know what. I hoped it wasn't me, but with my luck, it probably was.

"Somehow I don't think this is a coincidence," I sighed, taking another long drink of the beer. I didn't miss his jaw clench as I spoke.

"More like a set up, if I'm right," he tried to keep his voice light, but I could tell he was having difficulty. This was one of those few times where David let his weaknesses take control.

I let out a brief, sarcastic laugh. "Then why are you talking to me?" I met his eyes again, with fresh anger of my own.

To say David wasn't handsome was a blatant lie, anyone could see that. And anger, dare I say, made him even better looking.

I was definitely drunk.

"Trying to make civil conversation is all," he replied lightly, leaning up against the bar.

"Charming," I bit back.

He laughed almost…darkly. "Some things never change, I guess."

"And others wholeheartedly," I growled, starring him down.

I flipped my hair out of my eyes and took another drink, watching the crowd, starring at anything but him. The alcohol was making things fuzzy and I knew I was about to get myself into a shit load of trouble if I wasn't careful.

"You look good, Cassidy."

I turned to face him, an eyebrow raised and a brazen smirk on my lips. "I've changed a lot. It's common for _normal_ people."

"I've never known you to be average," his voice was taking on a frustrated tone.

"You never knew me, _remember_?"

I challenged him with my eyes, surprising myself with a boost of bravery. I could almost hear my brother's old Tetris game spelling out _Level up!_

His features changed, he adopted a cocky attitude that I so well associated him with.

"Ah, that's right. I've never seen you before in my life."

I changed the subject. "You said we were set up?"

He rolled his eyes and looked away angrily. "Possibly."

"But why-" but I stopped speaking immediately. I saw her face, briefly looking through the glass paneled window from outside with a victorious look set upon her unique features. I remember what she said to me down at the beach.

_"So you feel nothing for him?"_

_"It's sad, really. Such a waste."_

_"You'll be back."_

It was all her. Somehow, she set us up. She brought me here, she got David to come and now she expected us to go along with it like it was all rainbows and unicorns? Oh _hell_ no!

"So I guess she did _this_ too?" I hissed venomously, yanking my necklace out of the jean pocket and holding it up in front of his face. His eyes flashed briefly before they regained composure.

"This thing ended up _here_ and I got a call from the manager to come down and claim it. I've never even been in this place before."

And he was livid.

I stuffed it back into my pocket and jumped off the stool, roughly shoving past him. "If you won't take care of this, then I will. She's gone too far."

I could see she was leaving so I sprinted to the front entrance, ripping the door open and stalking outside. Her back was to me; her black and caramel hair swaying back and forth in stride with her hips.

_Cocky bitch._

There were a few stragglers hanging around their bikes, but they paid no attention to me as I came up behind her, nearly shaking with fury and excitement. I heard the door open and knew he was following me, but I didn't care. Not one bit.

"Holly!"

She swiftly turned around, eyes alight, feigning an oblivious attitude.

"Cassidy, what a surprise! I didn't know you were-"

And I bitch slapped her. Hard. She actually stumbled onto the dusty dirt road flat on her skinny ass and I stood over her, hands on my hips. Her head shot up, eyes flashing first in disbelief and then in blind fury. Her hazel irises tinged yellow and she wiped away a trickle of blood that was dripping down her lip.

"Never thought you had it in you," she snapped.

"There's a lot of things you don't know about me, _Scout."_

And she tackled me to the ground, yanking my hair and screaming at the top of her lungs. I scratched and bit and tore at whatever I could get my hands on, determined to win. She kneed me in the stomach, knocking the wind out of me, but I still managed to take a good swing at her face. Blood came off onto my fingernails and she hissed, biting my arm. I shouted obscenities as I felt the poke of her fangs as they crunched through my flesh.

"I'm gonna kill you!" I screamed, ripping a chunk of her hair and kicking her knees out from under her. She collapsed on top of me, snarling as her hand flashed out and tore off my earring. I could feel the blood flooding out of the split right lobe and decided to try and do the same to her. I hit and clawed at her nose, trying desperately to tear off the diamond stud embedded in her cartilage.

I knew it worked when she screamed in agony, clutching her nose as a violent stream of blood erupted from the wound.

"You bitch! Look what you did!" she howled as she sat on her knees. Her expression contorted horrifically as she stabbed me with her gaze. She sprang forward at the same time I did, but she was violently yanked back. Marko's steady gaze was enough to enrage me even more. I hated them! I hated all of them!

"Let go!" she screamed, thrashing against her protector. Blood splattered everywhere from her nose, including me. I scrunched my face in disgust and stood up, wobbling slightly.

"Maybe you should get a hold of your bitch, Marko!" I shouted, but he ignored me, instead dragged Holly away from the crowd that had gathered around us. She continued to scream in fury and attack at his hands and arms and he only took it with silence.

And suddenly, just as Holly was, I was viciously yanked backwards, strong arms pinning mine against my chest. I couldn't break the hold, so instead (still on a boost of adrenaline) I bit the black gloved hand as hard as I could. He snarled above me, but kept his steal grip as strong as ever.

"Get off me!" I screamed. I was being dragged backwards, towards the more secluded parts of the parking lot. Panicking then, I wiggled and thrashed underneath his grip, yelping in pain as his grasp tightened even harder. When we reached his bike, an empty lot lay next to it with black tire marks leading out onto the highway. Obviously Marko had high-tailed it out of here so Holly and I couldn't go at it again.

"Cassidy, _stop,"_ his stern voice was chilling and even though I didn't want to, I _had_ to. The wriggling ceased and my chest heaved as I fought for a breath. He slowly loosened his grip, arms still wound around me.

I began to actually see clearly instead of all red and slowly looked around me. The crowd was still outside, confused and disoriented. I heard something dripping; it wasn't loud, but still there.

"Your ear's bleeding. Can I let you go or are you going to fight again?"

"Let me go," I panted.

His arms uncoiled and I nearly dropped to the dusty road. The first thing I did was feel my ear and nearly threw up as my hand was covered in warm, sticky blood. A few small whimpers were freed from my throat and he gently pulled back my hair so it wouldn't stick to the tear.

"You need a doctor."

I faced him, although ashamed, opening and closing my mouth as I tried to determine what to say. Why was it so hard to create coherent conversations with him?

Instead, he started one for me. "That was your way of _dealing_ with it?"

I looked away, completely humiliated. "I guess I wasn't thinking."

"No you weren't. Holly will have to stay hidden for at least a week."

"Well, she didn't have to fight me," I mumbled like a scolded child.

"And you didn't have to start it. She's under my control and I would have dealt with it."

I shuddered, actually trying to image what exactly David would have done to her. When he wasn't a happy camper, nobody got s'mores. "I'd hate to see what goes down, but really it's her fault."

His eyes hardened over like water freezing into ice. "Or maybe it's yours."

I swear I felt my heart stop beating. "Mine?"

And then I made the connection. I came back into town, therefore it was my fault, not Holly's.

"You know, if you're so upset about me coming back, then why even talk to me?"

He chose not to answer, instead I noticed something that I realized he had been doing the whole time we were talking. His eyes kept shifting towards something behind me, watching it cautiously. His glances held warnings, deep and protective. I took this sliver of silence to start walking away. This night was over and done with; it was time to go home.

"Sorry for the trouble," I said quietly.

Suddenly, he grabbed my arm, pulling me back towards him.

"What are you doing?" I growled, suddenly sobering up.

"You're not driving home."

"The hell I am," I bit back.

He stood up straight, eyes blazing. "You're not. You're hurt and you've had too much to drink." His eyes shifted again. What was he looking at?

I scoffed, yanking my arm out of his grip. "Look, everything's in the past. Let's just both go home and forget this mess ever happened."

"I'm afraid I can't do that."

"And why not?" I asked haughtily.

And there he went again. Something behind me was distracting him, something of obvious importance, so I whipped my head around. The same crowd was still outside, nothing unusual. None of them were looking at us, all just minding their own business. But, there, towards the darkest corner of the building, I, out of pure luck, happened to catch what was making David so tense. A young woman with copper brown hair and a yellow smiley face t-shirt stood leaning against the brick wall, blatantly starring at the two of us. She had a very unsettling look about her, very animal like. Her eyes were penetrating, even from this far away.

"Who is that?" I dared to ask. I couldn't stop looking at the woman. She was oddly mesmerizing. Her eyes locked with mine and seemed to chain them up so I couldn't turn away.

"Don't look at her," David snapped, whirling me back around so I faced him instead.

"But, I don't understand. Who is she?"

"No one you need to know. I said don't look at her!"

I snapped back around, giving him a concerning stare. "Right, sorry. So uh back to our previous conversation. I'm just gonna-"

"Get on the bike," he growled, swinging his leg around the motorcycle and starting it up. Its purr was deep and heavy and shook the ground momentarily, rattling the tiny pebble littering the road.

"What? No way, are you crazy? My car's just over there!" I protested, pointing to the BMW.

"I told you, you're not driving home." His eyes went towards the woman again.

"Yes I am."

"Get. On. The. Bike," he hissed, wrenching me towards the Triumph. He was already furious and now this woman, who ever she was, was making things worse.

"David, please, I don't want to ride."

"I didn't ask what you wanted. Get on the goddamn bike, _now._"

I hesitated for a few seconds.

"Cassidy!" he snapped.

"Okay! Okay! Jeese!"

Against my better judgment, I climbed on the bike and wrapped my arms around his torso. He revved his engine, giving one last hard stare at the woman with the yellow shirt before shooting forward at a speed not even I thought was possible. I watched as the building blurred by, yet the girl's eyes seemed to stay in one place. They still stared at me, still watched me like a hunter.

David's bike went even faster as we raced onto the vacant highway, burning rubber like nobody's business. All the trees, stars, and moon become one distorted picture and the only thing I could see was his bleach blonde hair as we continued to race at horrific speeds.

Somehow, this all felt too familiar.


	7. Chapter 7 Just his luck or mine?

_I'm back! I am sincerely sorry for making everyone wait for so long, but honestly you have no idea how much stress I've had over the past few months. I'm lucky I've even found time to write this chapter. _

_Since it's been a while, let us recap things we need to remember shall we?_

_-Holly's "vision" as she read the vibes- the male and female she picked up_

_-the fight between Cassidy and Holly_

_-the woman in the yellow t-shirt at the bar_

_Thank you for sticking it out, guys! Love you more than anything and special thanks to all my reviewers, especially E.M. Morning. Your reviews make my sunshine come out to play!_

_There is a part 2 to this chapter and if things seem confusing, it's intentional. Your questions will be answered!_

_-Sunny_

_{***}_

The fluttering of birds' wings broke the silence of the dimly lit cavern. The flock of pigeons glided across the cave, flustered, and perched on the fountain centered in the middle of the grotto. They watched the empty furniture as if expecting its owners to suddenly appear and begin laughing and conversing like they always did at that time of night. Instead, there were only shadows standing stock still as a single barrel of fire lit the tunnels. The pigeons began to calm, one or two of them ducking their heads to clean their wings. If they could form coherent thoughts, they would have been wondering where the boy with the vibrant jacket was, the one who always fed them around midnight. He was nowhere to be found. The only being nearby was the woman; the one with hair curlier than the boy's who never spoke a word unless requested of. She never disturbed the pigeons and they never bothered her. Beside her, a small child of nine years slept soundly, his hair falling over his face like a dusty brown veil. Normally, the two would be out scoping for new faces to study, new places to go, out of reach of the others, but his orders had been strict. The chief, the one the pigeons did not particularly care for, made sure that the two stayed in the cave. And when orders were given, they were to be followed out; they had no choice.

Gradually, without even the pigeons noticing, one shadow began to crawl its way across the jagged wall towards the fountain. Slowly, it picked its way through the remains of old trinkets and embroidered scarves until it rested upon the pigeons. All became as still as petrified bone as the entirety of the shadow covered their bodies. The birds' eyes watched the figure before them; the shadow's owner. He was tall, towering over them as he turned still as stone. His presence was so powerful within the cave that even the woman, in the midst of her dreaming, shivered from the thrill of his unrealized company. When the figure moved, the birds rapidly took to the air, pumping their way to safety from the looming predator.

The figure remained in front of the fountain, taking in the ominous backdrop of the oversized fissure. His eyes pierced ferociously through the darkness, luminescent blue. A flicker of a smile passed across his lips, but was gone before any living being could have seen it. He slowly pivoted until he was facing the woman, watching her sleep as if her tranquility was more beautiful than the pastoral countryside that loomed just miles from there. He took a cautious step forward, ignoring the loud _clank_ that his steel toed boots fashioned and found himself standing over the woman. She took no notice of his impending form hovering over her nor did the child at her side. He watched her chest rise and fall with each gentle breath.

"So Star, you want out, do you?" he said softly, bending down to brush a strand of hair behind her ear.

She shifted in her sleep, mumbling nonsense before pulling an animal skin blanket over her shoulders. He watched her hungrily, his hands itching to feel every inch of her figure, yearning to taste her skin on his lips, wishing for the tang of her half-breed blood on his tongue.

"Has being David's porcelain doll become too boring for you?"

His words reached her ears and she mumbled, _"David"_, quietly in her sleep.

"Yes, yes, your keeper with the draconian rules that you can't stand," he laughed under his breath, "a free spirit confined to the abnormality of a hellish prison. But do I detect a sense of attachment, Star?"

His nose nearly touched hers and he knew she could not hear him. "He does not love you. He cannot love," he paused, "what is left of his soul belongs to someone else."

Without any warning, a sudden, subtle noise echoed through the cave as a second figure loomed in the darkness. She glided forward with the grace of a feline and the face of a wolf. She glanced at Star and then at the man and curled her lip.

"Speaking to the dead, again?"

"Only half dead."

"You love the pretense that she can be innocent, that any of our kind can be _saved_," she snarled, showing her pointed fangs at her partner.

He met her infuriated gaze with a simple word and calming eyes. "Believe."

"What?"

"I _believe_ in the pretense. That doesn't mean I feel lightly for it."

The woman abruptly left the man's company and grated her penetrating eyes across the expanse of the cave. Enraged growls bounced off the stone walls as she tore through the cave with a ferocity that would have made even the most well composed vampire shrink in size. The man merely stood in his place and watched her dig through the fountain for items that she had originally come for.

"Remember, take what you need and _only _what you need," she reminded him, placing an old record and a chain of shark tooth necklaces in her arms.

"And stop mingling with the half breeds," she spat, kicking an empty can out of her way.

He stood erect and began to back away from Star, his face blank of emotion. When he reached the fountain she had been searching through, he found the flock of pigeons to have returned and reached out to one. As if hypnotized, the bird perched on his outstretched hand. He began stroking its feathers, mumbling incoherent words as if speaking to a child. The pigeon remained calm until the man's grasp became tighter like a constrictor's and the bird began to suffocate.

"Shhh," he whispered, clenching his fist so tight the bird's neck was crushed and the veins erupted onto his pale hands like ripe grapes. He licked the blood off his fingers, grimacing. He blew the feathers from his hand, keeping the crushed corpse of the bird and glanced around the cave in dark curiosity.

"What are you taking?" the woman reappeared and asked more gently this time.

He held up the crush bird, but sighed and shook his head. "He keeps nothing of value here. Everything can be easily replaced."

"David is a curious vampire. I'm not surprised you can't find much."

The man thought in silence for a moment, feeling his partner's eyes on him and the presence of Star not too far away. "I can only think of one thing that is of some value to him."

They locked eyes and nodded to each other. "The girl," the woman stated.

"Yes."

"I saw her today, with him."

"This confirms it then. One more way to…watch their power wane over Santa Carla."

"Then you will find them and make sure you get a good look at her face. Know just how and when we will kill her."

"And you have the other females?"

"I know how to eliminate them."

"Then our duty is in progress."

Star began to stir underneath her bed sheets, mumbling dream words to the autumn air. The man and woman froze for a second before darting up the stairs towards the cliffs surrounding the cave. The man kept his partner's yellow shirt in view as he reached the end of the staircase. He paused for a brief second, imagining Star's voice, her _real_ voice and decided that he would hear it, if not tomorrow then next day or the next.

What was left of their thick, impacting presence was the bloodied pigeon feathers that glided with the autumn breeze across the gritty, cave floor.

{***}

Shadows; a glimpse of what lies inside a vampire's heart. The night is their sanctuary, the moon is their goddess, and the stars are their siblings. They were, in a sense, similar to humans. A fraction of them live a hedonistic lifestyle, never living to have any regrets or dark memories and others were unbelievable multi-faceted, pursuing an unending life of sinister adventures and mysteriously fast adaptations to what was happening around them. However, the differences from humans multiplied like the plague on filthy sewer rats. Vampires didn't need a tangible reason for living, for exploring the unexplained meaning of life; they were already dead. They didn't require late night rendezvous with friends or feel the ache of loneliness that eternity would bring them.

Sometimes they lived in packs, sometimes they lived alone. Fiercely protective of their family, they would do anything to keep them away from deaths arms a second time. For the most part, or from what I assumed, vampires lived in gender packs, meaning males with males, female with females. One or two of the opposite sex might slide in there with the rest, but that was a rare occurrence.

So where did I fit in with all of this?

I guess I was the interloper, honestly. I didn't fit in with the supernatural genre of Santa Carla so I found myself questioning the reason for my being on the back of David's bike. I was trying to avoid him, wasn't I? My actions puzzled me greatly and even more so when I couldn't recall even saying yes to riding the bike.

Why couldn't I remember?

We pulled off the main road and flew past a _45 mph_ sign, ignoring the set speed limit for the narrowing back road. At this speed, if we crashed I could be killed instantly, but I guess David wasn't thinking about that; he couldn't die.

I couldn't decide where he was taking me, but as the trip lengthened quite a bit and it seemed we weren't planning on stopping anytime soon, panic slowly burrowed its way into my nerves. Who's to say he wasn't going to finish me off right then and there?

My first thoughts about the speed (which, by the way, was increasing by the minute) was that he was trying to impress me, that perhaps he still thought he could "win me over", but I quickly excused that theory when I noticed how uptight he was. His whole body was tensed and that made me nervous.

What reason would _David_ have to be anxious?

By now, the alcohol had little effect on me. I could think clearly, thank the gods, and I wanted _off_ this bike. Either I was going to die from the speed or from David himself, I was sure of it. I had to stand up for myself, no more backing down from my fears.

"I want off the bike!" I shouted in his ear, inching closer to his face to make sure he could hear me.

I didn't hear any response come from him and I thought perhaps it was lost in the wind. So I repeated myself.

"David!" this time he seemed to notice me, although I was quite sure he had before. He turned his head slightly to give me a short, one sided glance.

"I want off the bike!"

He turned back around, completely ignoring my request. I snorted angrily.

"I'm serious, David, right now!" I tried to yell even louder.

In response, he turned back onto a main road and I could see the glowing mass of lights that was Santa Carla due north. A small sliver of my internal panic was cut away; at least we were heading back towards the city.

He slowed the bike down to a manageable speed as we came upon a few cars in front of us. I could sense that he was agitated at the reduced speed of the motorcycle, but me? I couldn't be any more enthusiastic. Now I could stop worrying about dying in a collision and more on getting home.

"Just take me back to the boardwalk!"

_I'm sure you'll be heading there anyways…_

To be honest, now that I finally was getting a grip on what had happened, I was a little pissed. Scratch that, a _lot_.

Was I seriously stupid enough to get on the back of his bike? _Really? _

Regretting the decision I didn't even remember, I was about to yell at him again when he suddenly took a sharp right turn, forcing me to strengthen my grip around his waist so I wouldn't fall to my death.

"What the hell are you doing? I said I wanted to go back to the boardwalk!"

"And I already told you I didn't ask what you wanted!" he shouted back.

I felt the urgency in my hands to just smack him on the head, but that would result in my immediate death…and probably not from a crash either. I weighed my options heavily, but really…I had none. I had no choice but to stay on the bike until he stopped.

"If I jumped, would it kill me?"

He jerked his head back violently to look at me and a warning glare was shot my way.

"If it didn't, _I_ would."

"Well, _that's_ comforting! I'm glad you care for my overall wellbeing."

He took another sharp left turn, stopping me from saying another word. The bike's speed decreased as we came upon an old railroad track, but he didn't stop at the warning sign. The bike coasted over the tracks and, however pessimistic it may seem, I was waiting for the train whistle to break the silence and sentence me to my untimely death. Fortunately for me, luck was on my side and we eased over the tracks with our heads still intact.

Up ahead, a large sign read _Seabright Medical_ and my heart dropped to my stomach. I didn't like doctors, not one bit. The bike lurched forward as we came into an occupied parking lot and he parked only a few steps away from the entrance. As we stopped, I became aware of the stinging in my ear and the dark, massive blood stain on my T-shirt. All around, my face was sore, my ear hurt like hell and I just wanted to go home.

I dismounted the bike and backed away to a safe distance of four feet. No way was I going in just because of a stupid cat fight. My ear would heal and sure it would be scarred, but who cares? It was better than going in _there_.

He cut the ignition and before I could even blink, he was off the bike. I stepped back another two feet and he chuckled softly.

"Happy?"

I cocked one hip and crossed my arms. "Well, this _isn't_ the boardwalk."

He rolled his eyes. "Are we going to have to fight again or are you going to make this easy?"

"That depends on your definition of easy."

"Cooperation."

"Fresh out."

He groaned and ran a hand through his hair. Surprisingly though, he said nothing in response. Silence, at least coming from him, made me a nervous wreck. I stuffed my hands in my jean pockets and rocked back and forth on my heels, earning me a terrible sense of vertigo.

"You're going to pass out, you know."

I glared at him. "No I'm not."

"You've lost way too much blood. Trust me."

"Why should I?"

"I brought you to a doctor, didn't I?"

"I don't like doctors."

I felt myself begin to sway and took a deep breath through my nose and out my mouth. I hated it when he was right. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I waved him away as he tried to steady me. "I'm fine."

"Look, I don't want to have to be responsible for you if you pass, so let's get moving."

"Wow. Sorry, I'm not looking to buy any negativity today. Come back tomorrow."

He growled and grabbed my arm, earning a squeal of surprise from me. "We don't have all night."

"Quite literally."

He pulled me forward and from that moment on, I knew I should have never pushed his buttons. Walking inside the doctor's office was probably one of the most terrifying experiences of my life, let alone walking in with a _vampire_. I have a fear of doctors, a major one, ever since my surgery when I was a kid. I knew he could feel my heart rate increasing, hell he was a vampire. Wasn't he supposed to notice things like that?

The glass doors automatically slid open and a sickening smell of anesthetics hit my face like a semi truck going 75. "God, I think I'm gonna puke," I groaned, clutching my stomach.

He stopped me in my tracks. "Do you need to sit down?" He sounded rather annoyed, but I could apologize for _wasting _his time later. At the moment, I was focusing on keeping the beer I shouldn't have drunk _inside_ of my stomach and not on his boots.

I pinched the bridge of my nose and pushed past him. "No, I'm just going to fill out the papers. The sooner we get out of here the better."

As soon as I started walking, he grabbed my arm and directed me towards a chair, the only one in the waiting room that seemed to be empty. "Let me."

I raised an eyebrow at him, scowling and he mirrored my expression.

"I told you, you'll pass out."

He turned away, the bottom of his coat brushing against my jeans. The nurses at the check in saw him coming their way and their faces echoed that of my father when I went through a rebellious stage; drained and tired of dealing with unruliness. They obviously didn't have the energy to handle David. I didn't blame them.

"Well, you don't have to be sassy about it," I muttered, plopping myself down in the empty chair. He waved my response away with his hand like a parent would do with a child. I saw him conversing with the nurses, but I couldn't hear their conversation and I didn't suspect it to be anything of monumental value. The waiting room, which I tried to study before feeling queasy again, was filled with disastrous looking people who probably had all sorts of diseases.

_Eww…_

I swear, David must have been going crazy with all the blood. Not that people were bleeding out on the floor, but I assumed that if they were in "primitive world" and in their weak states, they were susceptible to being attacked. David was a predator, I had to remember. Personally, I didn't remember the Doctor's office being so…gloomy. Perchance, my memory wasn't so reliable. At that moment, I could not even remember what I had fixed for breakfast that morning. My brain felt foggy and maybe it was because of my injuries from the fight or maybe it was something else. After all, to add to my memory loss, I could not seem to remember ever agreeing to ride on David's bike. Something suspicious was going on, that was for certain.

After pondering over things I couldn't quite seem to recall, I became acutely aware of my injuries and just how much they hurt. I had only been in a cat fight once before and even then, it hadn't been this severe. And, I wasn't so sure that the bite Holly left on my arm was going to leave me unchanged. Speaking of, I wondered just how bad her punishment was going to be when David returned. I let a ghost of a smile pass across my lips at the thought and resumed watching the waiting room. She deserved every bit of whatever came her way.

To my left, a woman of perhaps twenty years was holding a large bandage to her forehead and groaning quietly. It looked as if she was having horrible migraines and I felt a pang of sympathy for her. I knew the feeling quite well. To my right, a man in his late thirties sat with his eyes closed, breathing as calmly as if he wasn't actually waiting for the doctor. His face was pale however, so he must have been somewhat ill. All the infirmity made me sick to my stomach again. I started nervously tapping my foot.

"It's not as bad as it seems, you know."

The voice startled me. "What?" I asked, staring at the man. His eyes remained closed, his face even paler than before.

"I said, it's not as bad as it seems. You look pretty nervous. You're only making it worse for yourself." He looked more alive now than when I had glanced at him before. His eyes had opened to display a set of cornflower colored irises.

"Yeah, well I don't particularly favor being stuck inside the doctor's if you know what I mean."

He nodded and ruffled his cropped hair; it reminded me of chestnuts. He sat up a little straighter and leaned towards me, tapping his steel toed boots. "After about sixty times, you get used to it, _if you know what I mean_."

I blinked in surprise. "Sixty?"

He shrugged. "Just an estimated guess. I'm not entirely sure."

I rubbed my hands together and winced at the ache in my joints. "Why so many visits?"

"Why so many injuries?"

I smirked. "Cat fight."

"High fever."

"Sixty times?"

He smiled. "They can't figure out why it keeps happening. Disease, I'm guessing."

"Are you here to find out?"

"Yeah. I've got another fever. 101, I think."

"Gosh. How did you get over here then?"

"My girlfriend drove me."

I nodded and coughed as we sat in somewhat of an awkward silence. David was still getting the paperwork filled out and _that _worried me. How he could figure out all of my personal information was a mystery to me.

"You said you got into a fight, yeah?"

"Sure, not pointless though, I assure you."

"Aren't they all?" He grinned. "My girlfriend gets in them all the time. I keep telling her she's going to mess up that pretty face of hers, but she won't listen to me."

I laughed, flipped my hair back and took a hair band out of my pocket. My curls were already getting bloody, why not save what was left of them?

"Is it that your boyfriend up there?" He gestured towards the front desk where David was scowling at the insurance papers. I wanted to laugh.

"Ha! Actually, my _ex."_

His eyebrows shot up to his hairline. "You're kidding, right?"

"Not in the least."

He looked back at David, taking in his appearance with wary eyes and grunted. "He seems like a shady character."

I clapped my hands together, laughing loudly. "Why do you think we broke up?"

"Then why are you here with him?"

"He was my only ride."

That was far from the truth, but he didn't know that right? "I'm Cassidy, by the way," I said, holding out my hand.

He smiled and smacked his hand against his forehead. "I'm sorry!" he exclaimed, clearly embarrassed. He shook my hand. His palm was oddly cold.

_Didn't he say he had a fever of 101?_

"I'm Casper."

My lips quirked in a smile.

"Go ahead, say it. _Like the friendly ghost_."

I laughed a little, but stopped when I received a pounding headache in return.

"Ouch," I mumbled, trying to rub my forehead. I noticed that we were still holding hands and I tried to pull mine away. He wouldn't let me budge an inch.

I coughed nervously. "Uh…Casper?"

His grip tightened for a fleet second before releasing my hand. I stretched out my fingers in pain as the joints ached not only from the fight, but now from his handshake as well.

_That's not…strange…_

"So Cassidy, how long have you lived in Scotts' Valley?"

"Oh, nearly all my life."

He smirked, as if he'd completed a huge accomplishment. "I heard it's real pretty down there with the forests and cornfields."

"Yeah, especially during the fall-"

"Casper DeCardo!"

His eyes shot up to stare at the nurse lingering in the waiting room. He stood up on shaky legs and nodded benevolently to me as if the handshake had never even happened. "It was nice meeting you, Cassidy. Hope you feel better."

"You too."

Just as Casper was walking away, David was coming back. They passed each other in the aisle and both visibly stiffened. They stopped walking, holding each other's eyes with malicious stares. A stalemate erupted between them as neither moved. The elephant in the room was suffocating and even the other patients seemed to notice it. I could tell David was about lose his temper, for whatever odd reason, and Casper looked…pretentious. Did they somehow know each other?

"David?"

I couldn't find half my voice, so his name came out as a whisper. He did not respond immediately, but after I said his name again he began to turn away, still eying Casper with a dark glare that seemed to tear at his throat. Casper said something inaudible and David snarled something back. I could feel myself shrinking in the chair.

When he came back, he sat in the chair Casper had been in, his face twisted in disgust. Casper went through the door and disappeared. "Do me a favor, don't make any more new friends tonight, alright?"

I blinked. "Why?"

"Just don't."

"Did you know him?"

He didn't answer and instead, pulled out a pack of cigarettes and lit up, ignoring the large _No Smoking_ sign hanging near the doorway. I wanted to ask him more about Casper, I really _wanted_ to, but my brain seemed so foggy I just…I couldn't even focus on one thought stream in my head. Soon, even my vision began to blur. I rubbed my temples and released a heavy breath.

"What time is it?"

"Eleven."

When I glanced up at the clock, I felt a horrible ringing in my ears and all thoughts that were running through my mind, especially the ones of Casper, vanished.

"David, tell me I didn't lose that much blood. What are you doing to me?" I slurred, my eyes growing heavy.

It all made sense now. The reason why I got on the bike, the reason why I wasn't elaborating on Casper, it was all because of him.

"Did…did you use mind tricks or…or something?" I felt like I was about to drop dead. My vision started to blur. I figured maybe the blood loss was causing that, but his mind tricks were causing the confusion.

"Just sit still and don't ask questions."

"It's…not like I can. I can't think of _anything._"

"Cassidy Reeves!"

And just like it had never happened, the fog disappeared and I could think clearly again, although my vision was still shifting in and out of focus. David was suddenly in front of me, easing me out of the chair.

"Just walk slowly and I'll explain later."

We reached the nurse then and she gently patted me on the shoulder. "Looks like a nasty tear there," she gestured to my ear, "we'll fix that up in no time, dear."

She seemed to notice David then and arched an eyebrow. "Young man, I hope you're related. Only family is allowed back."

He was about to retort with a nasty comment, but I cut in before he could ruin it. "He is! My, uh, my brother."

She saw the similarities in hair and eye color and took it as enough evidence to let us both pass. "This door on the left. You've got minor injuries so it won't take long."

We went through the doorway and into a stark white room with a metal sink and parchment paper covering the examination table. _Hazard_ signs covered three different boxes on the sink, warning children to keep away from the needles and other tools and basic chemicals used to clean wounds. I entered fully into the room when David (his arm somehow tightly, almost too tightly, around my waist) shoved me into it. I took a seat on the cushioned table and David sat in an extra chair next to me.

"Doctor Morgan should be with you in ten minutes," the nurse stated before closing the door behind her.

I immediately glowered at David. "What the _freakin_ hell was that?"

I hadn't noticed that he had already put out his last cigarette and when he pulled out the pack for another one, my anger got the best of me. I slapped it out of his hand and growled when he looked up at me furiously.

"Are you _trying_ to antagonize me?" His eyes were tingeing yellow around the rims of his irises and that was the warning that told me to back off a little.

"No, I would just please like to know what you were doing back there."

"It would help if you would be specific. I did _lots_ of things back there."

"What you were doing _to me_. I couldn't think, I could barely speak! What was happening?"

We were at an impasse. He wasn't speaking, I wasn't speaking, neither of us moved. Our eyes were chained together, two shades of blue mixing like oil paints on a canvas. Silence was the brush and I was afraid if I spoke, I would ruin the perfect color.

But it wasn't me who spoiled it; he looked away. "Has anyone ever told you, you ask too many questions?"

I let forth a monstrous groan and fell back onto the table and covered my eyes. "You. Are. So. Stubborn."

"And you're not?" I opened my eyes and jumped back. He was standing right in front of me.

"Don't do that!"

"Do what?"

"Be all," I motioned with my hands, "vampirey!"

He chuckled and shook his head. "By far, this has been the most interesting night of my year."

"Oh yeah?" I crossed my arms. "Well at least you didn't beat up and get your hand practically squeezed off my some stranger!"

All humor vanished from his eyes. They were icy now, back to their normal color. "He touched you?"

"We shook hands and my hand practically suffocated."

I leaned back, lying down and closed my eyes while trying to ignore his fluctuating attitude. One minute he was angry and the next he was laughing.

"Let me see your hand," he commanded.

"No, I'm quite enjoying lying here."

I was suddenly wrenched up from my horizontal position by my wrist and was forced to sit upright. "Hey!"

He fanned out my palm, surprisingly very gently, and studied it like a book. I felt an undesired blush stain my cheeks and I could tell he noticed it.

"You know, just because I touch you doesn't mean you have to be embarrassed about it."

My face turned red. He looked up, smirking. "But I guess it's inevitable. Just face the facts that you're attracted to me."

I wrenched my hand back. "Excuse me!" I yelled.

He laughed. "Kidding, just kidding. Now seriously, let me see your hand again."

"That was not funny, David."

"I thought it was."

I slapped my hand back into his and huffed angrily. "Well I didn't."

He was quiet for the longest time. His eyes seemed trained on one smooth spot on my palm. He traced an invisible line along my skin and my face erupted in red. And suddenly, as if his touch was magic, a long red burn-like scar began to appear on my palm.

"What is that?" I asked, startled.

He frowned grimly and met my eyes with fiery regard. "He marked you."

"What? Who?"

"Casper or whatever his name was."

"Casper? How the hell did he make _that_ happen?"

"Come on, Cassidy. I thought you would have already figured that one out."

I put all the clues together.

_Pale Skin, cold hands, a tad bit…enigmatic…_

"He's a vampire?"

"And he obviously wanted a claim."

I gulped.

"He thought you were with me," David growled, dropping my hand.

"Oh."

"This mark however….it's a warning I think."

"What does it mean?" I asked in a small voice.

He suddenly looked tired, like he already had enough on his plate. "Nothing. Don't worry about it."

"Don't worry about? I'm the one who he just marked!"

"I'll handle it, alright?"

"I think I deserve to know if a vampire wants to drain me of blood or not, David! It's my life, not yours."

"Look, what did he say to you?"

"Why does that matter?"

"Just," he rubbed his face, "tell me what he said to you."

I recapitulated everything for David from why we were at the doctors, to the introductions to the end of our conversation. "And then he asked me how long I'd lived in Scott's Valley."

We both froze.

A cold, paralyzing fear grated through my stomach. "God…I-I didn't think anything of it."

"And you never-?"

"No….I never told him where I lived."


	8. Author's Note

Hello all! It's been a long time hasn't it? Longer than I'd like to admit. I guess now is the time I give you all my excuses for not updating.

School obviously...a college prep. academy takes up more time than I ever imagined...I've also gone through a pretty difficult break up recently. That didn't help the lost drive to update this story. But I'm happy to say that summer is here and with it shall come new chapters! I promise I will update within the next few weeks because my drive has come back. Hurray! Thank you to everyone who has continuously reviewed this story although I haven't updated...it means quite a bit to me.

However, I won't waste anymore of your time. I just wanted to let you know more chapters are on the way:)

Thank you for your continued support!

***Sunny* **


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